Typhoon Rananim's fringe brushed over Taiwan's northeastern tip yesterday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds that uprooted trees and flooded streets on the densely populated island province. A mudslide killed a road worker, police said.

　　The storm's eye whirled far north of the island, but Rananim was churning toward the Chinese mainland's southeastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, the weather bureau said.

　　The typhoon - expected to hit the mainland later - was packing winds of 140 kilometers per hour and gusts of 175 kph, the bureau said.

　　Taiwanese cable TV networks showed huge waves crashing against northern shores. Morning commuters in the provincial capital, Taipei, struggled to hold umbrellas caught by blustery winds. Cars plowed through flooded roads.

　　Heavy rains triggered a landslide that buried three workers who were shoring up an embankment on a mountain road in the eastern coastal county of Hualien, police said. One of the workers died, while the others were rescued, police said.

　　Lu Kuo-cheng, a weather bureau forecaster, said the rain and winds were expected to stop late yesterday when the storm moves into the mainland.

　　"We'll have to wait until the typhoon gradually gets to the mainland, then the rain in northern Taiwan will start to ease off," Lu said.

　　Offices and schools in the port city of Keelung were shut while shops and houses were cushioned with sandbags to fend off floodwaters. The storm uprooted trees in the city.

　　The Shihmen Reservoir, Taiwan's biggest reservoir, opened its floodgates to let off excess water, and authorities urged residents downstream to evacuate when necessary.

　　Mountains near the reservoir recorded 300 millimeters of rain overnight, officials said.

　　The typhoon's center was 280km north of the island, and the storm was moving northwest at 19kph, the weather bureau said.

　　Rananim means "hello" in the Chuukese language spoken in the Federated States of Micronesia.

　　Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit Taiwan, triggering deadly flash floods and landslides on the mountainous and crowded island of 23 million people.

　　Last month, typhoon Mindulle killed 29 people as it plowed into central Taiwan.

　　(The Associated Press)