Pedestrians lifted off their feet by Typhoon Dujuan

Monday, September 28, 2015, 7:34 AM - Thousands of people have left their homes as powerful Typhoon Dujuan approaches Taiwan packing winds strong enough to lift pedestrians off their feet (video below).

The typhoon made landfall late Monday local time, and around 7,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, including around 3,000 tourists from the country's Green and Orchid islands, on Sunday, as the approaching storm's winds whipped up surf and threatened power infrastructure.

Its wind gusts have been strong enough to outright knock pedestrians and motorcyclists down.

The storm has weakened somewhat from its peak status, but it remains a strong category 3-equivalent, with last reported wind speeds of 185 km/h, gusting to to 232 km/h. 

It is expected to cross the north of Taiwan and make a second landfall in China by Tuesday, possibly still at typhoon strength but rapidly weakening.

Its effects have also been felt in the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch southward from Japan to Taiwan and include Okinawa.

Many ferry services and flights have been cancelled ahead of the storm, and the BBC says Taiwan officials are warning debris left from the last major typhoon to hit the island may make the situation harder to deal with.

That storm, Soudelor, pummeled the island with intense winds and downpours earlier in the summer. Eight people were killed, along with 21 in China.

But unlike Soudelor, Dujuan is coming at a time when the world's tides are at their highest point in 18 years, thanks to the influence of a full "supermoon" at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

Related video: Science behind the super typhoon

SOURCE: The Weather Network | BBC