Typhoon Shanshan, the thirteenth of the year, is approaching Taiwan, meteorologists said Thursday afternoon.

Shanshan was located at latitude 20.4 north and longitude 125.2 east in seawater 490 kilometers northwest of Taiwan island at 5 p.m. Thursday. It is moving towards the island at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The typhoon, which is packing winds of 144 kilometers per hour, will bring strong winds or gales to the Taiwan Straits, east South China Sea and south East China Sea and lash Taiwan Island with heavy rains.

At 2 p.m. Shanshan was reported to be 980 kilometers southeast of Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The Zhejiang provincial government is calling fishermen back to land and has ordered local governments to help evacuate people in areas threatened by the typhoon.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)