The typhoon Man-yi can have "potentially catastrophic" consequences when it hits the Philippines over the weekend. Millions of people are at risk, and so far, more than 650,000 have been forced to flee their homes.
Wind gusts can reach up to 66 meters per second and waves of up to 14 meters are expected to follow the typhoon.
"A potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for the Bicol region in the northeast as the supertyphoon 'Pepito' worsens further," warns the weather agency, which uses a local name for the storm.
More than 160 people have died in the five storms that have hit the Philippines in the past month. Thousands have become homeless, and the impact on crops and livestock has been significant.
I think our house will be destroyed when we get back. It only takes two gusts to blow it down, says a resident in the region of Albay in the central parts of the island nation.
In the northern region of Samar, a local rescue chief says:
Every time a typhoon like this comes, it takes us back to the Middle Ages, we're forced back to square one.
According to Japan's Meteorological Institute, it is the first time since 1951, when statistics began to be kept, that so many powerful storms have hit the area in November.
