A fisherman ties his boat at the harbour before the onset of Typhoon Chanthu in Yilan, Taiwan, on Friday. Reuters

Taiwan downgraded typhoon Chanthu to a medium typhoon on Saturday, saying that while it would bring heavy rain and gusty winds to most of the island it was unlikely to make direct landfall.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said the storm, which was at one point categorised a super typhoon, was losing strength as it headed up the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines.

Earlier, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said the storm was expected to skirt the island's sparsely populated and mountainous east coast before touching down on its northeast corner late Sunday afternoon close to capital Taipei, and then head towards China's Zhejiang province.

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The bureau issued a typhoon warning for the southern half of Taiwan late on Friday after Chanthu passed through Philippine waters with sustained winds of 215kph (135mph) and gusts up to 265kph (165mph).

A high wave hits ashore as Typhoon Chanthu approaches Taiwan in Keelung, New Taipei City, on Saturday. AP

Forecasters expect Chanthu to pass Taiwan’s east coast on Sunday, but the outer edge of the storm should dump rain on the island, the Taiwanese and Philippine weather agencies said.

On Friday, Philippine authorities issued storm warnings for Cagayan and Ilocos Norte provinces on its northern island of Luzon and for sparsely inhabited islands of Luzon's northern coast. There were no immediate reports of flooding or damage.

The Taiwanese transport ministry said a dozen domestic flights had already been cancelled, though there was no impact yet on international flights.