Taipei, Nov 02: Taiwan issued a warning against landslides and torrential rain on Sunday as tropical storm Melor swept past the island's south towards Hong Kong. At (0645 hrs IST), the storm was 210 km south of Oluanpi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, moving north-northwest at 10 km per hour, and was expected to veer west, the Central Weather Bureau said.

With maximum sustained winds of 85 km per hour and gusts up to 110 km, Melor posed a threat to shipping and could cause landslides in the island's mountainous southeast. The weather bureau's projections showed Melor approaching the island and veering west without making landfall, and weakening as it crossed the south China sea and approached Hong Kong.

In 2001, one of Taiwan's deadliest years for storms, typhoon Toraji killed 200 people and a few months later, typhoon Nari caused Taipei's worst flooding on record and killed 100. Bureau Report