Taiwan residents wade in floodwaters in Wuche, in eastern Ilan County, as typhoon Saola approches the island's east coast on Thursday, August 2. The typhoon dropped as much as 1.5 feet of rain in parts of the Philippines before making landfall in Taiwan on Thursday.
(CNN) -- Heavy rains from the outer bands of Typhoon Saola, which hovered near the Philippines beginning last week, have left 23 people dead and another five injured, an official with the National Disaster Coordinating Center said Thursday.
The center's executive director, Benito Ramos, told CNN in a telephone interview that another 129 people -- most of them fishermen -- had been rescued.
Forty-four evacuation centers were opened as Manila and the cities of Valenzuela and Malabon north of the capital along Manila Bay remained flooded, he said.
Typhoon Saola batters Taiwan
In all, Saola dropped as much as half a meter (1.5 feet) of rain over the Philippines, said CNNI Meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Rains over the Philippines were only intermittent by Thursday at about 4 a.m., when the typhoon -- packing winds of 157 kph (98 mph) was making landfall in northeast Taiwan, said Ward.
Taipingshan, a mountainous in northern Taiwan, got more than 1.7 meters (5.6 feet) of rain. "The mountains really help enhance the rainfall," Ward said. "They basically force the air upwards, and that squeezes out the possible precipitation."
He described Saola as the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane in the Atlantic when it made landfall in Taiwan. It was expected to continue at similar strength into China, striking 300 to 400 miles south of Shanghai at about 10 p.m. Thursday (10 a.m. ET).
The U.S. government's National Hurricane Center describes a Category 2 storm as one with sustained winds of 154-177 kph (96 - 110 mph) that "will cause extensive damage."
Another typhoon -- Typhoon Damrey -- was expected to strike about 150 miles north of Shanghai, Ward said.
Damrey was expected to be slightly weaker -- the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic, he said. The hurricane center describes those as packing sustained winds of 119-153 kph (74-95 mph) that "will produce some damage."
CNN's Samira Said contributed to this report.
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A bus sits half submerged on a flooded road in New Taipei City.
People collect recyclable material from debris washed ashore in Manila on Wednesday, August 1, after heavy rain from Typhoon Saola.
People wade through a flooded street Wednesday in Navotas, a Manila suburb.
High waves splash up Wednesday along Toxas Boulevard, the famous roadway that runs along Manila Bay.
A man braves high waves along Manila's Roxas Boulevard on Wednesday.
Residents maneuver through a flooded street Wednesday in Navotas.
Motorists make their way through Manila's flooded streets Wednesday.
Locals pick through debris from the typhoon along Manila's Roxas Boulevard.
Residents wade through a flooded street filled with trash in Navotas.
CNN iReporter Peter Chiang captured this image of uprooted trees after Typhoon Saola swept through Taiwan's capital. "Trees are uprooted everywhere here. Apart from that, in Taipei City it's largely fine, but outside the city there's a lot of flooding," Chiang said.
Motorists drive through floodwaters along Manila's Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Wednesday.
People pick up recyclable materials among the trash washed ashore along's Manila's Roxas Boulevard.
Residents wade through a flooded street in Navotas in suburban Manila. Forty-four evacuation centers have been opened due to flooding.
A resident rides in a banca on a flooded street in Navotas.
A man cleans his house in Taiwan's eastern Yilan County as Typhoon Saola approaches the island's east coast Thursday.
People walk along the Shanghai Bund on Thursday as storm clouds gather over the Huangpu River. The typhoon was expected to strike south of Shanghai later Thursday.
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