Typhoon Durian has slammed into the eastern Philippines, cutting off power, shutting schools and forcing thousands of coastal residents to flee their homes.
Packing sustained winds of up to 190kph and gusts up to 225kph, Durian is classed as a category 4 typhoon, one level below a super-typhoon.
Resident on the island of Catanduanes, directly in the path of the storm, told local radio the winds were so strong it felt like an earthquake.
Forecasters have said the storm could hit the capital, Manila, on Friday and schools in the city have been closed as a precaution.
The authority in charge of the city's airport said they were considering diverting all incoming flights to Hong Kong.
Economy hit
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The storm is following a similar path
to September's Typhoon Xangsane |
Durian is the fourth typhoon to strike the Philippines in three months and appears to be following a similar path to September's Typhoon Xangsane.
That storm left around 200 people dead and missing with clean-up work still far from finished.
Damage to transport links and crops has already had a noticeable impact on the country’s third quarter economic figures.
On Wednesday night several outlying islands and coastal areas were plunged into darkness as Durian hit the Philippine coast
Rescue officials have warned of the danger of flash floods, mudslides and powerful storm surges.
An archipelago of several thousand islands, the Philippines regularly finds itself in the path of typhoons.
The worst in recent memory came in 1991 when floods triggered by Typhoon Thelma killed more than 5,000 people on the island of Leyte.