Authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China have warned residents to "prepare for the worst" as the impact of Super Typhoon Mangkhut reverberates, after making landfall in the northern Philippines.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a warning for hurricane-level winds above 118km/h, as weather forecasters predicted Mangkhut would rebuild in intensity over the South China Sea.
“As the wind and rain brought by Mangkhut are expected to come in extraordinary speed, scope and severity, I have ordered all parties to prepare for the worst,” said Hong Kong’s security minister, John Lee Ka-chiu.
Mangkhut is predicted to bring damaging winds and rain to the city on Sunday.
Provinces along China’s southern border - including Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan - have also been alerted to the risk of extraordinarily torrential rains, floods and landslides.
In Guangdong, 100,000 residents and tourists have been relocated, and 3,777 shelters established. AP news agency reports more than 36,000 fishing boats were recalled to port.
Situation 'very bad' in the Philippines
At least 5.2 million were within the projected path of the storm, which is called Ompong by locals.
The system made landfall in Baggao, Cagayan at 1.40am.
The weather system is the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in the last five years, with authorities fearing impacts to the scale of Haiyan in 2013.
The supertyphoon resulted in over 7000 deaths and disappearances and affected 16 million in November 2013.
Strong wind gusts of up to 255km/h and torrential rain lashed the country's north.
Oxfam responder April Abello-Bulanadi - who is in Tuguegerao City, Cagayan - said there has been substantial damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops.
"The situation is very bad," she said.
"The winds are howling and we can feel the destructive force of Ompong. The roof of the hotel where the response team convened has been blown away. We are on the third floor. The walls and ceiling are shaking. It has been raining nonstop. We are preparing to assess the areas near the Cagayan river, the coasts of northern Cagayan, and north Isabela."
Heightened landslide risk in the Philippines
Teams have been conducting assessments since Wednesday to speed up the provision of aid to the hardest hit areas.
Oxfam's Country Director in the Philippines, Maria Rosario Felizco, said that people who have been displaced will need urgent access to food, clean water and shelter.
"We are concerned about Ompong's impact on lives and livelihoods, especially those within the eye of the storm," she said.
"The communities will need support during this time of great need. Oxfam and our partners are ready to support the government.
"We will prioritise addressing the needs of women and girls throughout the
emergency response."
Alerts downgraded
Alert level 4 has been declared in four provinces of the northern half of the island of Luzon, where winds between 171-220kmh have been recorded.
In Cagayan and Isabela, located on the northeastern coast of Luzon, where the storm entered, the alert level has already been lowered from 4 to 3 after the passage of Mangkhut, which left strong winds, torrential rains, floods and waves of up to six metres.
The eye of the hurricane passed over those regions, two of the main producers of rice and maize, with wind gusts of 330km/h.
Super Typhoon Mangkhut is the 15th storm to hit the Philippines this year and, so far, the strongest for 2018. An average of 20 typhoons hit the country each year.
Ms Felizco said she is concerned about the strong potential for landslides during the monsoon season, with the added impact from extreme weather events.
"What we are also seeing now with extreme weather events like Mangkhut is that we need to take urgent action to ensure that communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts are able to adapt," she said.
- with agencies.
