Taiwan has evacuated more than 3,000 people from vulnerable areas and closed schools and offices ahead of the arrival of tropical storm Fung-wong which killed at least 25 people and displaced more than 1.4 million in the Philippines.

Fung-wong is expected to make landfall on Wednesday afternoon or evening near the south-western port city of Kaohsiung.

It was earlier classified as a typhoon but has been losing intensity as it approaches Taiwan.

"Fung-wong may have been downgraded to a weak typhoon but we still cannot lower our guard," said the mayor of Kaohsiung, Chen Chi-mai.

On Tuesday morning the storm had maximum sustained winds of up to 108 kilometres per hour, with gusts of 137kph.

Fung-wong has been forecast to sweep across Taiwan and exit from its north-eastern side on Wednesd

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