Typhoon Kaemi, which shut financial markets in the Philippines yesterday, brought heavy rainfall to Taiwan that disrupted air travel, injured four people and caused mudslides. It's heading for China's southeastern coast.

Nearly 30 domestic air flights in Taiwan were suspended, and 11 were postponed, while some railway and sea-transport services were canceled, the Ministry of Interior said on its Web site late yesterday. About 4,900 mainland Chinese sailors have sought shelter in the island's protected harbors, it said.

The typhoon's center passed the island at 4:05 a.m. Taiwan time and at 5 a.m. was 40 kilometers (25 miles) east-southeast of Taiwan's western offshore island of Penghu, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said on its Web site. Kaemi, which means ``ant'' in Korean, has maximum winds of 126 kilometers per hour and gusts of 162 kph. It was heading west-northwest at 17 kph.

Taiwan's government issued mudslide warnings and flood alerts for 905 rivers and mountains across the island, chiefly in the eastern and northeastern areas, the ministry said. The typhoon brought as much as 288 millimeters (11 inches) of rain in the highlands of southern Taiwan, the weather bureau said.

The typhoon yesterday forced the closure of the stock market and other financial markets in the Philippine capital Manila, as well as most government offices and schools. The capital is in the north of the country.

China's Fifth Typhoon

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in China's eastern province of Fujian or neighboring Zhejiang tonight or tomorrow morning, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday, citing the observatory in Fujian, which is on high alert. Kaemi will be the fifth typhoon to hit China this year, Xinhua said.

Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit the region. Tropical Storm Bilis earlier this month killed 530 people in China and damaged infrastructure and power supplies, Xinhua reported. Damage in Guangdong province alone, near Hong Kong, totaled 13.2 billion yuan ($1.65 billion), the state-run news agency said. Rains and floods destroyed 212,000 houses, damaged 287,000 others and forced 2.95 million to evacuate, it said.

Bilis also left at least 14 people dead in the Philippines and damaged roads, bridges and farms. In Taiwan, the storm killed three people.