Typhoon Talim pounded East China's Fujian Province Thursday afternoon with strong winds and rainstorms after wreaking havoc in Taiwan.

According to the Fujian provincial observatory, Talim slammed into the Putian region at 2:30 pm, with gusts of 126 kilometres per hour.

About 193,000 local residents were transferred to safety Thursday, following relocation of 286,000 people in the previous two days.

The typhoon has forced Changle International Airport in the provincial capital of Fuzhou to close, and affected 11 flights to another airport in Quanzhou.

Several inter-provincial highways were temporarily shut down.

The sea ferry service between Xiamen and Taiwan's Jinmen was suspended for the third time this year.

Earlier, Fujian authorities issued a top-level "black alarm," ordering boats into port and placing rescue teams on standby, according to Fujian Meteorological Bureau's website.

The provincial education department issued an order to close all schools in six coastal cities for two days.

Fujian television showed waves up to 10 metres high crashing against breakwaters in the fishing village of Ningde. The report said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

China's Central Observatory said Talim has been downgraded to a strong tropical storm, and will continue to affect other coastal regions, including the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Shanghai Municipality today.

The storm was moving northwest towards Jiangxi at about 22 kilometres per hour.

Just to the north in Zhejiang, more than 291,000 people were moved away from the coastline, rivers, aging reservoirs, mountain villages and dilapidated housing, according to China News Service.

More than 29,000 ships and fishing vessels took shelter in harbours, it said.

In Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, heavy winds and strong rain knocked out power to large parts of the city, the news website www.sina.com.cn reported.

Floodwaters turned many streets into rivers, causing a number of breakdowns that blocked traffic.

Zheng Youqi, a taxi driver, said it took much more time to reach destinations than usual. "My car is swimming in the flooded street," he said.

Talim left Taiwan's west coast earlier Thursday after killing 2 people and injuring 39. Damage from the storm was largely limited to fallen trees and signboards, although schools, offices and financial markets were closed in most parts of the island.

The number of households in Taiwan without power was as high as 1.48 million at one point, but electricity has since been restored to about half, officials said.

Source: Xinhua/agencie