Typhoon Matsa dumped torrential rains in northern Taiwan as it swirled in seas near the island on Friday, shutting down financial markets and grounding several international flights, officials said.

At 0945 IST, the typhoon was centred in the Pacific Ocean about 210 km northeast of the island, the Central Weather Bureau said.

Matsa's fringe brought heavy rains to northern Taiwan, swelling rivers and flooding low-lying areas, the bureau said.

About 300 residents were evacuated from a village in a mountain in northern Hsinchu where 800 mm fell over the past 24 hours, the semiofficial Central News Agency reported.

Rockslides damaged roads and bridges in some mountainous areas, leaving villagers isolated, the Disaster Relief Centre said.

Financial markets, government offices, and many stores in northern Taiwan closed on Friday.

China Airlines said its departing flights from Taipei will be delayed until late on Friday. One flight arriving from San Francisco and another from Los Angeles were diverted to the southern city of Kaohsiung, the airline said. Several domestic flights were cancelled.

Matsa, named after a Laotian fish, was moving northwest at a speed of 14 kmph, packing sustained winds of 44 kmph, the weathr bureau said.