Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau, which issued a land warning late Thursday (August 6), said Soudelor was approaching from the east with maximum sustained winds of 170 kilometres per hour, and gusts of over 200 kilometres per hour.
Currently described as a "moderate typhoon" by the weather bureau – the second highest category – it could be raised to the top category of "severe typhoon" if wind speeds near the centre reach more than 184 kilometre per hour.
"We don't rule out the chances Soudelor could strengthen later," said the weather bureau.
Soudelor was described as a "super typhoon" by the Hong Kong Observatory earlier in the week as it reached maximum sustained wind speeds of 230 kilometres per hour.
The eye of the storm, currently some 440 kilometres away from Taiwan, was moving west northwest towards the island at a speed of 22 kilometre per hour.
President Ma Ying-jeou, who visited the Central Emergency Operation Center on Friday morning, ordered local authorities to stop tourists and local residents from visiting beaches on the island's east coast, the Central News Agency reported.
Taiwan Railways Administration cancelled part of its service, and some domestic flights were cancelled.
About 2,000 tourists and residents had already been evacuated from islets in eastern Taiwan late Thursday, the agency said.
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