Torrential rains and rivers swollen by Typhoon Sinlaku killed at least five people, and left seven others missing and presumed dead in central Taiwan, authorities said Monday as the storm moved on toward Japan.

Four cars with an unknown number of passengers were buried in a tunnel hit by a mudslide in central Nantou county, Taiwan Radio reported late Monday. Workers were digging through debris to rescue those trapped.

A woman was killed when a resort hotel was buried by mudslides in scenic Lushan in central Taiwan, the Disaster Relief Centre said.

Soldiers and rescuers in Taichung county searched for five missing people after a section of a 600-metre bridge over the Tachia River collapsed Sunday night.

Two cars plunged into the furious river after the water washed part of the bridge away, the centre said. Authorities were trying to confirm if a third car also fell into the river as news media reported.

Police recovered one body, identified as a 32-year-old engineer.

More bridges found damaged

A woman told CTI Cable News she was driving on the bridge when it collapsed ahead of her and tried to warn the driver in front.

"We honked but his car just plunged down like that without even slowing down," the unidentified woman told the station.

Authorities closed four other bridges Monday because their pillars had cracked or were standing on eroded ground.

Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into the northeast coast of Taiwan on Sunday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Mountainous regions recorded more than 100 cm. of rain, and several large rivers overflowed their banks, forcing authorities to evacuate hundreds of people.

The typhoon, downgraded to a tropical storm, was centred at sea 210 km north of the northern tip of Taiwan on Monday evening, the Central Weather Bureau reported. Moving northeast, Sinlaku would likely make landfall in southern Japan by Wednesday.

The storm dumped heavy rain in eastern China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces Monday, and authorities evacuated 460,000 people, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Some 30,000 fishing boats were ordered to return to the harbour, the agency said.