TAIPEI, Sept 21 (AP) -- Taiwan issued sea warnings for the waters off its southern tip on Wednesday as tropical storm Damrey approached from the Philippines.

The Central Weather Bureau warned ships in the Bashi Channel separating Taiwan from the Philippines to take precautions against the storm.

Damrey was unlikely to hit the island directly but could cause torrential rains in southern Taiwan, the bureau said.

As of early morning, the storm was centered in the Pacific Ocean 490 kilometers (305 miles) southeast of Taiwan's southern tip, the bureau said.

Packing sustained winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour, the storm was moving northwest at a speed of 11 kph (7 mph), the bureau said.

Damrey is the Cambodian word for elephant.

Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit Taiwan, triggering flash floods and landslides on the mountainous and crowded island of 23 million people.