A large swathe of southern and eastern Taiwan shut down on Wednesday and hundreds of flights were cancelled ahead of the arrival later in the day of Typhoon Podul, with thousands of people evacuated.

Thousands of people sheltered and fishermen secured their boats across storm-battered southern Taiwan on Wednesday as Typhoon Podul intensified on its approach to the island. More than 5,500 people have been evacuated from their homes ahead of Podul,

Typhoon Podul is forecast to make landfall on the southeastern coast of China's Taiwan region on Wednesday noon, bringing strong winds and heavy rains that are expected to affect a wide swath of southern China in the coming days, according to the National Meteorological Center.