Super typhoon Ragasa made landfall over Panuitan Island, one of the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines' northern Cagayan province, at 15:00 local time (08:00 GMT) Monday. Ragasa, packing 285km/h (177mph) wind gusts, is expected to barrel west towards southern China. Despite its small change in intensity, it still brings a "high risk of life-threatening storm surge", with peak heights exceeding 3m (10ft), the Philippine weather bureau said. Authorities have warned of widespread flooding and landslides and damage to homes and infrastructure. Schools and government offices in large parts of the country, including in the capital Manila, have been shut.

The remote Batanes or Babuyan islands, where Ragasa made landfall, are home to about 20,000 people, many of whom live in poverty. On one of the islands, Calayan, information officer Herbert Singun told Agence France Presse (AFP) chunks of a school roof had been ripped off, landing on an evacuation centre about 30 metres away, causing one minor injury. "Can you see those coconut trees swaying in the distance?" he asked during a video call. "There were eight of them before. Now only four are still standing. That goes to show how strong this typhoon is." (BBC)