The country's Central Weather Bureau lifted a warning against storm Melor which lost momentum as it veered north along Taiwan's eastern coast, the bureau said.

"The storm is expected to keep losing its strength and be downgraded into a tropical depression," a bureau official said.

A woman in southern Taiwan's Pingtung town drowned after being trapped in the flooded basement of her workplace Sunday evening, according to the National Fire Agency which coordinates rescue work.

A search was under way for three people, including a mother and a daughter of a family, who were reported missing in Taitung, the agency said.

Air and rail services were cancelled and schools remained shut in many parts of southern Taiwan.

Hundreds of fishing boats sought shelter in harbours as the bureau issued a warning against torrential rains and strong winds.

In the southern Pingtung area, rainfall measured 500 millimetersinches) overnight.

At 2:00 pm (0600 GMT), the center of storm Melor was 150 kilometersmiles) southeast of Hualien, a town in east part of the island.

TERRA.WIRE