T yphoon Meranti Brings violent winds and torrential rain to eastern and southern Taiwan Wednesday Sep 14,2016

Parts of Taiwan were brought to a standstill Wednesday Sep 14,2016 as super typhoon Meranti skirted past the island's southern tip, bringing the strongest winds in 21 years and disrupting traffic ahead of a major holiday.

Although typhoon Meranti did not make landfall, the storm brought violent winds and torrential rain to eastern and southern Taiwan.

At 1000 GMT, Meranti was 60 kilometres (37 miles) south-southwest of the offshore Penghu island, packing gusts of up to 227 kilometres per hour.

Hengchun's observation station recorded the strongest winds in its 120 year history earlier Wednesday, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.

"It is the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in 21 years in terms of maximum sustained wind near the centre," said forecaster Hsieh Pei-yun.