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Military rescuers prepare life saving equipment as Typhoon Megi approaches in northern Philippines during a formation at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City Metro Manila October 17, 2010. An approaching typhoon triggered warnings in 19 northern Philippines provinces with forecasters expecting it to intensify to a super typhoon with winds in excess of 250 kph (155 mph) as it makes landfall on Monday. (REUTERS)
Super Typhoon Megi struck the northern tip of the Philippines on Monday, causing landslides in mountainous areas and whipping up huge waves along the coast.
Schools were closed and thousands of people were evacuated across the north of the Philippines' main island of Luzon in preparation for what was expected to be the strongest storm of the year, rescue and relief officials said.
The northeastern province of Isabela was the first to feel the typhoon's fury on Monday morning although there were no immediate reports of casualties, chief government weatherman Graciano Yumol said.
"The natural hazards are taking place. There are landslides in the mountains, we have swells, storm surges and big waves along the coast line, and now we have flood alerts," Yumol said in an interview with GMA 7 television.
As of 8:00 am (0000 GMT) Monday, the government weather station tracked Megi just off the coast of Isabela, about 320 kilometres (198 miles) north of the capital, Manila.
The storm was not expected to hit Manila directly but Yumol warned the city's 12 million residents to remain on alert.
"It will rain here as well so do not lower your preprations," he said.
The storm, dubbed a "super-typhoon" by government relief agencies, was moving southwest at 19 kilometres per hour, packing gusts of up to 260 kilometres per hour, the government weather station said.
Megi was expected to cut across the northern part of Luzon throughout Monday, then exit out to the South China Sea on Tuesday, the weather station said.
The highest level of a four-step storm alert was raised over Isabela and surrounding provinces while lower alerts were in effect over most of Luzon.
Isabela and other provinces in Megi's direct path are mostly agricultural and fishing areas, with a few million residents who are well-drilled in preparing for the many storms that hit each year.
Over 3,000 people had already been moved from their homes in the northern provinces as part of a "pre-emptive evacuation" of threatened areas, the civil defence office said.
Flights to and from northern Luzon were also suspended and ships there were told not to leave port.
Military, police and relief agencies had positioned supplies and rescue units to provide swift assistance to any affected areas, the civil defence office reported.
Rubber boats, large trucks, heavy equipment and rescue divers were all on standby, ready to be dispatched to areas hit by floods or blocked by landslides, the office said.
The US military and UN representatives were also due to meet with President Benigno Aquino to see how they could help, GMA television reported.
The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons a year, some of them deadly.
More than 1,100 people were killed when tropical storm Ketsana and typhoon Parma struck Luzon within a week of each other in September and October last year, triggering the worst flooding in recent history.
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