One of the year's most powerful storms in the Philippines, Super Typhoon Fung-wong has killed four people and displaced more than 1.4 million others, authorities said on Monday, as they began assessing damage after its fury abated, though no reports of major destruction have flowed in yet.
More than a million people were evacuated before Fung-wong hit land on Sunday, unleashing fierce howling winds, heavy rain and storm swells on the most populous island of Luzon that left some sleepless through the night.
More than 1.4 million people moved into emergency shelters or the homes of relatives before the typhoon made landfall, and about 318,000 remained in evacuation centres on Monday.
"We could not sleep because of the winds hitting our metal sheets and tree branches falling," said Romeo Mariano, who sheltered with his grandmother in their home in the province of Isabela.
"When we got out to check our home, we saw the damage."
Early indications suggest the tally of dead "will be minimal," however, civil defence senior official Raffy Alejandro told a media briefing.
A mudslide buried a house to kill two children in the northern town of Kayapa in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, regional civil defence official Alvin Ayson said by telephone.
They followed two deaths from drowning and fallen debris.
Landslides also isolated at least four towns in the province of Aurora, where Fung-wong made landfall, Alejandro added.
Forecast to shift northeast to Taiwan, Fung-wong was packing winds on Monday whose speeds had dropped to between 130 kph and 160 kph (80 mph to 100 mph), but it remained a typhoon, whose outer bands could dump rain in coastal areas and trigger storm surges.
The storm is the 21st this year in the Philippines, coming after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed 224 last week, with five dead in Vietnam.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of emergency on Thursday due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected damage from Fung-wong, which was also called Uwan in the Philippines.
Tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185 kph or higher are categorised in the Philippines as a super typhoon to underscore the urgency tied to more extreme weather disturbances.
The Philippines has not called for international help following the devastation caused by Kalmaegi, but Teodoro said the United States, the country's longtime treaty ally, and Japan were ready to provide assistance.
Authorities announced that schools and most government offices would be closed on Monday and Tuesday. More than 325 domestic and 61 international flights were cancelled over the weekend and into Monday, and more than 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in ports after the coast guard prohibited ships from venturing into rough seas.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also has frequent earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.