The number 13 may prove unlucky for Taiwan as meteorologists revealed yesterday that Typhoon Shanshan, the 13th of the year, is approaching the island.

Shanshan was located at latitude 20.4 north and longitude 125.2 east out at sea, 490 kilometers northwest of Taiwan Island in the Pacific at 5 PM Thursday. It is moving toward the island at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The typhoon, with winds clocked at 144 kilometers per hour, is expected to lash with strong winds or gales the Taiwan Straits, east South China Sea and south East China Sea and drench Taiwan Island with heavy rains.

At 2 PM Thursday, Shanshan was reported to be 980 kilometers southeast of Wenzhou in southeast China's Zhejiang Province.

The Zhejiang provincial government has alerted all fishermen back to port and has ordered local governments to help evacuate people from typhoon-threatened areas.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)