Fung-wong, expected to be a "super typhoon" before making landfall, bears a huge footprint, with a radius that could cover "almost the entire country," a government meteorologist said. "Apart from the strong winds, we can also expect heavy rains  200 millimetres (eight inches) or higher, which can cause widespread flooding, not just in low-lying areas," meteorologist Benison Estareja told a press briefing Saturday. "It's also possible that our major river basins will overflow."

As of 11 am (0300 GMT), the typhoon was moving westward toward the Philippines' main island of Luzon, with wind speeds of 140 kilometres per hour and gusts of 170 kilometres per hour. In coastal Aurora province, where Fung-wong is expected to make landfall by late Sunday or early Monday morning, rescuers were going door to door encouraging residents to head for higher ground. "We are preemptively evacuating people in areas that may be high-risk for flooding," provincial rescuer Elson Egargue told AFP by phone. (Bssnews)