CORRECTED - Typhoon hits Taiwan after swiping Philippines

(Corrects time in paragraph 7 to 0500 GMT, not 1300 GMT)

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A super-strength typhoon that brought flooding to parts of the Philippines tore into Taiwan on Friday, forcing the cancellation of flights and sending coastal residents rushing to secure their homes.

Waves swelled, winds picked up and rain battered the north of the island as Typhoon Sepat made landfall, a disaster relief official and local media said. Two counties ordered class and work stoppages effective Friday afternoon, TV stations reported.

"There's already a huge wind, and waves hitting the coast pose a danger," said Fei Yu, a resident of coastal Taitung County. "Most people living here are making preparations at home to ride out the storm."

In the southern city of Kaohsiung, 16 domestic flights and one international flight were cancelled.

All flights from Taipei's domestic airport were due to stop in the evening. The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, near Taipei, also cancelled southbound flights to avoid the storm.

Sepat will probably smack into the cities of Kaohsiung and Taichung, both with populations of more than 1 million, early on Saturday and then pummel the Chinese coast, according to Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com).

The eye of the category 5 typhoon was 320 km off the coast of Taiwan as of 0500 GMT, packing sustained winds of 184 kph and gusts up to 227 kph.

China's southeastern province of Fujian was bracing for the typhoon to make landfall on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, the official Xinhua news agency said.