The most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in eight years bore down on the northern island of Luzon on Sunday, slamming into coastal regions with high winds and heavy rain, officials and witnesses said.
The weather bureau said Typhoon Cimaron was packing winds of about 195 km per hour (121 miles per hour), with gusts up to 230 kph, as it moved west-north-west into Luzon, the country's most populated island and its main rice-growing area.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is visiting China, urged residents in northern provinces to stay at home and prepare for the worst.
"I appeal to you not to venture out if there is no need for that. Let's follow the order of our officials and let us all pray," she said in a radio broadcast.
Cimaron arrived just weeks after Typhoon Xangsane raked the Philippines and Vietnam, killing at least 169 people and taking a heavy toll on electricity networks, roads and crops.
It also hit before millions of Filipinos were due to flock to cemeteries to pay their respects to dead relatives as part of the Roman Catholic festivals of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2.
"It's raining hard and the winds are getting fierce," said Emily Viloria, who manages a computer shop in the town of Solana in the north-eastern province of Cagayan. She said power was out in some areas.
Disaster and health officials asked residents of coastal and low-lying areas to move to higher ground, radio reports said. Light rain fell on Manila, the congested capital of 12 million people, but the alert level was much lower.
School classes and bus services were suspended in affected areas, the national disaster agency said.
Driving rains accompanying the typhoon could spell trouble for farmers. The rice harvest in the fourth quarter typically accounts for 40 to 45 percent of the annual total.
Parts of northern Luzon are mountainous and heavily logged, raising the risk of floods and landslides that have killed hundreds of people in past storms.
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