Mangkhut, the most powerful typhoon to strike the Philippines in the last five years, has made landfall in the northeastern town of Baggao with maximum sustained winds of 205km/h and gusts of up to 285km/h.
The Category 5 storm came ashore on Saturday in Cagayan province, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
Mangkhut is moving west-northwest at 35km/h and is expected to exit the archipelago in the direction of Hong Kong late on Saturday, according to the PAGASA bulletin.
Forecasters said that coastal areas in the impact zone could experience a storm surge of as much as six metres.
Seven provinces in the northern part of the island of Luzon - Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga and the Babuyan Islands - have been placed under Alert Level 4, one below the maximum.
A school has been turned into a temporary shelter in the town of Aparri. Source: AAP
More than 13,000 people were evacuated ahead of the typhoon's landfall, though the storm will affect more than 5.2 million Filipinos who live in a radius of 125km of Mangkhut's path.
Humanitarian organisations like the Red Cross have increased the number of people affected by the typhoon to 10 million, considering the damages to agriculture that are expected in Luzon.
Authorities warned that the destructive force of Mangkhut could be similar to that of Haiyan, a super typhoon that left more than 7000 people dead and missing in November 2013.
The area where Mangkhut made landfall, however, is less densely populated and is protected by mountains that will soften the impact of the typhoon.
Source: http://www.metoc.navy.mil
