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Philippines hit by ‘intense’ typhoon as nearly a million evacuate

Typhoon Fung-wong has made landfall in the Philippines, where more than 900,000 people have been evacuated and two people have died.

The storm hit as a super typhoon, with sustained winds of around 185 km/h (115mph) and gusts of 230km/h (143mph).

The eye of the storm hit Aurora province in Luzon – the country’s most populous island – at 21:10 local time (13:10 GMT). By 02:00, the storm weakened to a typhoon and was over La Union in western Luzon.

The country’s meteorological service warned of destructive winds and “high-risk of life-threatening” storm surges from the “very intense” typhoon.

Fung-wong – known locally as Uwan – comes days after earlier storm Kalmaegi left nearly 200 people dead.

Eastern parts of the Philippines had already begun experiencing heavy rains and winds on Saturday evening, a weather official said.

Residents in Catanduanes, an island in the east of the Bicol region, as well as in other low-lying and coastal areas, had been urged to move to higher ground by Sunday morning.

The storm passed near the eastern Bicol region on Sunday morning, before making its way past the Polillo Islands on Sunday afternoon.

The civil defence office reported that one person drowned and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under debris in Catbalogan City.

The civil aviation regulator has closed several airports, and almost 300 flights have been cancelled.

Fung-wong was expected to weaken after making landfall, but is likely to remain a typhoon as it travels over Luzon.

More than 200mm of rain is forecast for parts of Luzon, with even 100-200mm in the Metro Manilla area. This is expected to cause severe flooding and landslides.

In the Aurora region, in eastern Luzon, BBC News spoke to Hagunoy, 21, who works at one of the dozen hotels which line the coast in Sabang.

He said police had repeatedly visited in recent days to ensure all guests were evacuated ahead of the storm. The hotels were all deserted on Sunday morning.

While the tide had risen sharply, Hagunoy said he would stay as long as he could to guard the property, before riding his motorbike home to safety.

Staff had secured the gates and tied windows shut with rope to try to stop the glass from shattering in the wind.

In central Aurora, more than 200 people arrived at a shelter in a sports centre. Many parents have brought young children, too young to remember Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people when it struck the Philippines in 2013.

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