Taiwan battens down for Typhoon Matmo

YILAN, Taiwan: Typhoon Matmo churned towards Taiwan Tuesday, picking up strength with thousands of tourists evacuated from outlying islands as weather forecasters warned of possible flash floods and landslides.

Matmo, packing gusts of up to 173 kilometres per hour (107mph), is the first tropical storm to hit the island this year and is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast early Wednesday, the Central Weather Bureau said.