China braced for Typhoon Fung-Wong

(CNN) -- A weakened Typhoon Fung-Wong neared the Taiwan Strait Monday afternoon after whipping the island with powerful winds and heavy rain, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported.

Torrential rains inundated parts of Taiwan, dropping up to 36 inches (900 mm) in some areas, but the island's rugged landscape had taken much of the storm's punch. Sustained winds from Fung-Wong eased to 80 mph after roaring in as a Category 2 at 95 mph.

The typhoon is expected to make a second landfall in southeastern China early Tuesday, coming ashore in China's Fujian Province, south of the city of Fuzhou, as a Category 1 storm with winds of at least 75 mph.

Fujian authorities evacuated about 275,000 people on Sunday as the storm approached, Xinhua reported. More than 50,000 fishing boats returned to harbor.

Government offices and schools in Taiwan closed ahead of the storm's landfall early Monday, authorities said, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. Local stock and foreign exchange markets also closed for the day.

Officials suspended ferry service linking Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, according to China's Xinhua news service.

Fung-Wong delivered a glancing, but powerful blow to the northern Philippines as it passed on Sunday.

Two people were reported missing by authorities, the Philippines News Agency reported Monday. Officials said about 2,000 families were affected by storm-related flooding.

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