Philippines warns of 'potentially catastrophic' Super Typhoon Man-yi

Manila: A super typhoon sweeping towards the Philippines on Saturday was intensifying and could have a potentially catastrophic impact, the state we...

Manila: A super typhoon sweeping towards the Philippines on Saturday was intensifying and could have a "potentially catastrophic" impact, the state weather forecaster warned, with millions of people at risk from storm surges.

More than 650,000 people have fled their homes ahead of Super Typhoon Man-yi, which is expected to make landfall later Saturday or early Sunday, becoming the sixth major storm to pummel the archipelago nation in the past month.

With wind gusts of up to 240 kilometres per hour (about 149 miles per hour), Man-yi was on track to slam into the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon or "near peak intensity", the weather service said.

"Potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon 'Pepito' further intensifies," the forecaster said, using the local name for the storm and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon.

Up to 14-metre (46-feet) high seas were expected around Catanduanes, while more than 7.6 million people were at risk from storm surges of one to three metres, the forecaster said.