At least two people have died in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Fung-wong lashed central and eastern parts of the country, with heavy rains and strong winds cutting power in large areas of the Bicol region ahead of its expected landfall in northern Luzon.
More than a million people have evacuated vulnerable areas ahead Super Typhoon Fung-wong's projected landfall in Aurora province as early as tonight, with officials urging residents to heed evacuation orders.
The body of a woman killed as she attempted to evacuate from her home was pulled from under debris and uprooted trees, a rescue worker said.
Rescuer Juniel Tagarino in Samar province's Catbalogan City said the 64-year-old had been fleeing with family members last night when she unexpectedly "went back inside her house" only to be found hours later.
Watch: Strong gust of wind bends palm trees as super typhoon hits central Philippines
The government civil defence department said that nearly 1,200,000 people had been preemptively evacuated ahead of the approaching typhoon.
The super typhoon, which comes just days after another storm ravaged the country, was working its way west with winds of 185 kilometres per hour near the centre and gusts of up to 230 kph as of 11am, the state weather service said.
With a radius spanning nearly the whole of the Philippines, Fung-wong is expected to bring wind and heavy rain to broad swathes of the archipelago nation, which last week saw more than 220 people killed by Typhoon Kalmaegi.
Schools and government offices were ordered closed across the main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, where nearly 300 flights have so far been cancelled.
Catanduanes, a small island the state weather service said could take a "direct hit", was being lashed by wind and rain early Sunday, with storm surges sending waves hurtling over streets along the coast and floodwaters rising in some areas.
"As we speak, they are feeling the impact of the typhoon, especially in Catanduanes, because the storm's eye is closest there," civil defence deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro said at a press briefing, adding that 916,863 people had been evacuated nationwide.
"The waves started roaring around 7am. When the waves hit the seawall, it felt like the ground was shaking," Edson Casarino, 33, a resident of Catanduanes' Virac town said.
"Heavy rain is pouring now, and I can hear the wind whistling."
Video showed a church in the town surrounded by floodwaters that reached halfway up its entrance.
Flooding was also reported in southern Luzon's Bicol region, Alejandro said, adding officials had anticipated water would "rise in the Bicol River basin".
In Guinobatan, a town of about 80,000 in that region's Albay province, verified video showed streets that had become a raging torrent of floodwaters.
Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to bring about 200 millimetres or more rain in many places, according to government meteorologists.
Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, meaning heavier rainfall.
Watch: Residents wade through floodwaters in Bagamanoc, Philippines
'Strapping down the roofs'
Yesterday, Catanduanes rushed to prepare for the onslaught, with residents tying down their houses with ropes and putting weights on their roofs.
"They decided to do our tradition of strapping down the roofs with big ropes and anchoring them on the ground, so they won't be blown away by the wind," provincial rescue official Roberto Monterola said.
In Sorsogon, a city in southern Luzon, some sought refuge in a church.
"I'm here because the waves near my house are now huge. I live near the shore, and the winds there are now very strong," Maxine Dugan said.
Only days earlier, Typhoon Kalmaegi sent floodwaters rushing through the towns and cities of Cebu and Negros islands, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and massive shipping containers.
The typhoon, the deadliest of 2025 according to disaster database EM-DAT, killed at least 224 people and left 109 missing, according to government figures updated this morning.
Yesterday, rescue official Myrra Daven said the approaching super typhoon had forced the suspension of search and rescue activities in Cebu, home to the majority of Kalmaegi's deaths.
"We cannot risk the safety of our rescuers. We don't want them to be the next casualties," she said.
