Taipei  - Typhoon Morakot charged towards China Saturday after slamming Taiwan, leaving person dead and six missing on the island.

One woman riding a bicycle was swept into a flooded ditch and drowned and four fishermen were listed as missing, according to the government's disaster report.

Two policemen in Taitung County were also missing after being washed away by floodwater while on a rescue mission, cable TV channel CTI TV reported.

The typhoon cut off electricity to about half a million homes and paralyzed Taiwan's road and air traffic.

The centre of Morakot, the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan this year, left the island at 2 pm (0600 GMT), the Central Weather Bureau said.

Moving at 11 kilometres per hour (kph), the storm packed centre winds of 108 kph and gusts of 137 kph. It was expected to hit the Fujian coast on the Chinese mainland Sunday.

The typhoon earlier caused floodig and mudslides in the Philippines Friday that killed 12 people, including three French mountain climbers and their two Filipino guides.