TAIPEI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Schools and offices in Taiwan's capital were advised not to open on Saturday and surrounding areas were issued strong weather warnings as a typhoon packing gusts of up to 227 kph (141 mph) began to hit the island late on Friday.

Typhoon Sinlaku, the centre of which was about 180 km (112 miles) east of Taiwan at 1615 GMT on Friday, is expected to bring sustained winds of 184 kph and rainfall of up to 600 millimetres over the weekend, the island's Central Weather Bureau and local media reported.

The category 3 storm will blanket the island before moving on toward Japan, the Central News Agency and the forecasting website Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said. It could grow to category 4 on a 1-5 scale.

As winds began whistling across northern Taiwan, the city of Taipei advised staying away from schools and workplaces to avoid flying debris while the weather bureau warned people away from beaches and mudslide-prone mountains.

Sinlaku would be the fourth typhoon to hit Taiwan this year. On July 18, typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 20 people and caused extensive flooding, landslides and crop damage in the south and central part of the island.

Typhoons regularly reach China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan from August until the end of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific or the South China Sea before weakening over land. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Matthew Jones)

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