Only in the coastal city and technology hub Shenzhen in southeastern China, 400,000 people are expected to be evacuated, according to the authorities. In northern Philippines, the figure is over 10,000. The island nation's weather agency says there is a high risk that the typhoon will be "life-threatening".
The bad weather will move into the Philippines on Monday and then move around the South China Sea towards Taiwan, Hong Kong and later the Chinese mainland by Wednesday.
Domestic flights in the northern parts of the Philippines have been cancelled, and both fishing boats and ferries are to remain in ports. In the capital Manila and in 29 of the country's 82 provinces, schools and authorities have been closed as extensive rainfall is expected.
The typhoon is the fourteenth bad weather to hit the Philippines this year while a corruption scandal is being investigated regarding bribes, which have resulted in inadequate or non-existent projects to handle flooding. The scandal has led to extensive demonstrations.
Taiwan, north of the Philippines, has also carried out smaller evacuations. There, the weather agency expects "extremely heavy rain".
Hong Kong is also affected. The international airport will remain open, but several airlines are expected to cancel flights. However, there have been reports that the airport would be closed for 36 hours. One airline has already cancelled 500 flights.
