Philippines raises alert as super typhoon hurtles closer

The Philippines raised its storm warning on Friday and warned of major destruction, hours before Super Typhoon Mangkhut was due to make landfall with fierce winds and drenching rains.

Thousands have already fled their homes on the Philippines' northern coastal tip ahead of the early Saturday arrival of what forecasters have called the strongest typhoon yet this year. Businesses and residents on Luzon island, which is home to millions, were boarding up windows and tying down roofs that could be sheared off by sustained winds of 205 kilometres (130 miles) per hour.

The Philippines state weather service raised a “signal four” alert, the second-highest storm warning for winds of up to 220 kilometres per hour, for the Cagayan and northern Isabela coastal provinces.

“It is important for our countrymen to know that we have raised signal four,” forecaster Loriedin de la Cruz said during a televised safety briefing.

A signal four alert was issued for Super Typhoon Haiyan, which is the country's deadliest on record. It left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November 2013.

“Among all the typhoons this year, this one (Mangkhut) is the strongest,” Japan Meteorological Agency forecaster Hiroshi Ishihara told AFP.

- AFP