Taiwan suspended train services and closed schools today as it braced for its first typhoon of the year. <br/><br/>Typhoon 'Nesat' – which strengthened into a moderate storm yesterday – is already bringing crashing waves and strong winds to the east coast, where it is due to make landfall tonight. <br/><br/>Nesat, which was 210 kilometres southeast of Hualien county early today, was packing gusts of up to 137 kilometres an hour. Taiwan's weather bureau warned of torrential rain in the eastern and southern counties, with the tropical storm expected to dump as much as 900ml of water in some areas. <br/><br/>Schools and work were cancelled for two outlying islands, while several eastern counties were expected to follow suit in the afternoon. Most trains running along the east coast were also suspended today. <br/><br/>Air travel was disrupted, with domestic flights to the east coast and outlying islands cancelled. More than 36,000 soldiers are on standby to help with disaster relief.