Thousands evacuated from Taiwan islands as typhoon nears

Typhoon Dujuan threatens long-weekend plans for many as Taiwan celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival. - AFP/File / Sam Yeh

Taipei (AFP) - Almost 3,000 people, most of them tourists, were evacuated from outlying islands off Taiwan on Sunday as Typhoon Dujuan gathered strength as it neared, looking set to bring heavy rains and high tides.

Typhoon Dujuan, packing maximum winds of up to 209 kilometres (130 miles) per hour, was 560 kilometres southeast of Hualien county at 2:30 pm (0630 GMT), and lay around 350 kilometres from the Japanese island of Ishigaki.