Taiwan's weather bureau said on Wednesday that all parts of Taiwan are expected to be affected by the tropical storm Bilis, according to a report reaching here from Taipei.

Bilis was located about 510 kilometers east of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Oluanpi at about 11:00 AM Wednesday, forecasters said.

With a radius of 300 kilometers, the storm was moving northwest toward Taiwan at 17 kilometers per hour (kph), packing winds of up to 119 kph, they said.

Weather forecasters predicted that the winds to be brought about by the storm will not be as obvious as the rainfall that it will cause.

The storm is expected to bring a large amount of rainfall to Taiwan, especially the mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, forecasters said.

Places expected to witness the most rainfall are the mountainous areas in Kaohsiung and Pingtung, where the precipitation is projected to reach 900 mm to 1,200 mm, they said.

Meanwhile, they reminded the public to avoid heading to seaside areas as the storm has brought high waves along Taiwan's east coast.

Bilis swept through the northern part of the Philippines Wednesday, bringing torrential rainfall that caused flooding in some low-lying areas and mudflows in mountainous areas.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2006)