The storm hit southeast China's Fujian province at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) and was expected to also strike Zhejiang province which is still mopping up after Typhoon Rananim left 164 people dead and 1,800 injured just weeks ago.

The storm landed at Fujian's Fuqing city at a speed of 36 meters (118 feet) per second, an official at the Fujian Meteorological Bureau told AFP.

"The winds are more than Force 12," said the official, surnamed Li.

By Wednesday evening, some fish farms in the coastal waters of Fujian were damaged and many trees were toppled, but no deaths or injuries had been reported as Aere moved further inland at 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) per hour, the Xinhua news agency said.

Aere was expected to be weaker than Rananim. But disaster relief officials said no chances were being taken after they watched it lash Taiwan where financial markets, schools and offices were shut for a second day Wednesday.

Some 320,000 people in Fujian, including fish farmers living in coastal waters, had been evacuated and more than 10,000 boats returned to port, the China Central Television station said in its evening news.

While Fujian is expected to bear the brunt, neighbouring Zhejiang has also moved large numbers of people to safety, evacuating 249,000 and recalling 31,500 fishing boats, Xinhua said.

In Taiwan, thousands of people living in low-lying and mountainous areas were evacuated after flooding and landslides caused by Aere. Power was cut to some 250,000 households and 770,000 lost water supplies.

Rail links between Taipei and eastern coastal cities were interrupted. Offices in most cities and counties in northern Taiwan were shut.

In addition to the six dead, nine people in Taiwan were missing.

Of the victims, four died and five went missing when mudslides triggered by downpours toppled their homes in a village in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County, a rescue official said.

Another resident in Hsinchu was killed after an electric poll fell on him, the official said.

A fisherman died and four people were reported missing after two boats capsized off the north and east of Taiwan. Marine rescue officers said the fishermen were presumed dead, and that search missions were forced to suspend work due to Aere's intensity.

"Although Aere has slowed down, its intensity remains. It might be the second strongest typhoon after Rananim," Liu Zhengkun from China's Central Meteorological Observatory was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Rananim was the most powerful typhoon to hit eastern China in 50 years, destroying 42,400 homes and wiping out large tracts of farmland.

Meteorologists said Aere may combine with another nearby storm, Typhoon Chaba that has just curved past the Mariana Islands and Guam in the north Pacific, and left at least two people dead and another missing in the Marianas.

In the Philippines, four people were killed and three were missing as heavy rains partly caused by Aere and Chaba triggered a landslide and widespread flooding.

Parts of the Philippine capital Manila were under up to three feetcentimeters) of water, paralyzing traffic and forcing many schools to declare holidays.

Two young girls were swept away while swimming in heavy seas in southern Japan, which was also hit by Aere.

From Wednesday evening to Thursday, several areas of east China -- parts of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces -- would be affected by strong wind and heavy rain kicked up by Aere, the central observatory said on its website.

The provinces were also facing high risks of landslides.

Chaba, meanwhile, was moving north-northwest and was expected to hit Okinawa Friday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

East China is prone to typhoons and has been pummeled by at least 15 over the past 50 years. The deadliest on record was in 1997 when 236 people were killed.

TERRA.WIRE