Philippines braces for Super Typhoon Mangkhut

Preparations were in high gear in the Philippines on Friday with Super Typhoon Mangkhut set to make a direct hit in less than 24 hours, packing winds up to 255 kilometers per hour and drenching rains.

Thousands fled their homes on the Philippines’ northern coastal tip ahead of the early Saturday landfall of what has been called the strongest typhoon yet this year.

Businesses and residents on Luzon island, which is home to millions, were boarding up windows and tying down roofs that could be sheared off by winds forecast to gust as high as 255 kilometers per hour.

“Among all the typhoons this year, this one is the strongest,” said Hiroshi Ishihara, meteorologist with the Japan Meteorological Agency. “This is a violent typhoon. It has the strongest sustained wind.”

The Philippines state weather service said Mangkhut, a massive storm about 900 kilometers wide, is packing sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour as it roars west across the Pacific.

Heavy rains and gusts were starting to hit the far northeastern tip of Luzon on Friday, but there have been no reports of major damage or flooding.

Farmers in the region, which produces a significant portion of the Philippines’ corn and rice, were rushing to bring in crops that could be destroyed by flooding.

At least four million people are directly in Mangkhut’s deadly path, which forecasters say will make its way to China this weekend.