Thousands evacuated as storm hits Taiwan TAIWANESE authorities have evacuated thousands of people, cancelled hundreds of flights and closed schools today as tropical storm Talim pounded Taiwan. The storm sparked rainfall up to 50cm in the south and forecasters from the Central Weather Bureau have warned that at least twice as much may yet be on the way. Even though it is not expected to landfall, the storm still may introduce heavy rains and inflict casualties and damage. The public must by no means relax their vigilance until Friday," a weatherman told AFP. In the southern Kaohsiung city, which received much of the rainfall, schools and offices were closed. Nearby more than 2000 villagers were evacuated from the mountainous areas prone to mudslides, with a further 3500 evacuated island-wide. A total of 247 domestic and three international flights were axed while all shipping services to and from the offshore islands were halted. South-bound rail transportation linking Kaohsiung with the southeastern Taitung county was interrupted. At 8pm AEST, the centre of the tropical storm was 190km west-southwest of the capital Taipei city. With a radius of 150km and packing gusts up to 83km/h, the storm was moving northeast at 41km/h, the Central Weather Bureau said.