TAIPEI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A strong typhoon churned toward Taiwan on Sunday, with winds of up to 227 kph and dumping torrential rains as it forced flight and work cancellations ahead of its expected landfall later in the day.

Typhoon Jangmi, the season's most powerful storm so far, was located 200 km southeast of the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien and moving northwest at 29 kph, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau (http://www.cwb.gov.tw)

Tropical Storm Risk (http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com) showed the storm weakening after passing over Taiwan, but still moving in a northwest direction to make a second landfall in China.

The storm's approach prompted the CWB to issue sea and land warnings for the east coast of Taiwan. Some domestic and international flights were also cancelled, though many were still flying on Sunday morning.

The government also warned of the danger of mudslides, and television showed pictures of rough seas along the coast.

Ahead of its arrival, the storm, the biggest so far of the season for Taiwan, was already bringing heavy rains to the north and east of the island, dropping more than 300 mm of rain in places and expected to eventually dump up to a metre in some mountainous areas.

China's official Xinhua news agency said the fast-moving storm was expected to make landfall in south China's Fujian province on Monday, bringing torrential rains to Fujian and neighbouring Zhejiang province.

It said local authorities called vessels to harbour and issued warnings of possible floods and landslides, and that navigation was suspended across the Taiwan Strait.

In Zhejiang city of Wenzhou, about 110 tourists were stranded at a small island, Xinhua said.

Jangmi is the second major storm to strike Taiwan in the last twp weeks, following the passage of slow-moving typhoon Sinlaku which drenched the island and killed 12 people earlier this month.

Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan from August until the end of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific of South China Sea before weakening over land.

(Reporting by Doug Young; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani

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