Mangkhut, also known as Ompong in the Philippines, made landfall at around 2:30am local time today. The storm is estimated to be 900km in diametre. The Philippines has raised the highest alert level in the northern provinces and the Babuyan group of islands.
Those areas have a combined population of at least 3.7 million. But other neighbouring provinces are also expected to be affected, bringing that number to more than five million. Philippines authorities readied bulldozers for landslides and placed rescuers and soldiers on full alert in the country's north.
