Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in the Philippines on Christmas Day as powerful Typhoon Nock-Ten barrels towards the country's eastern coast.
Nearly 12,000 passengers were stranded after sea travel was suspended and more than a dozen domestic flights to eastern provinces were cancelled as the typhoon neared.
Nock-Ten, which was intensifying as it neared the Philippines, is expected to make landfall on Sunday evening over the eastern province of Catanduanes, the country's weather bureau said.
The typhoon is packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 255km/h. It's moving west at 15km/h, and would bring heavy rainfall within a 500-kilometre diameter, the bureau added.
Coastal areas were warned of storm surges reaching up to 2.5 metres.
In the province of Camarines Sur, Governor Miguel Villafuerte promised to provide roasted pork to residents who moved to evacuation centres to make sure they were still able to celebrate Christmas.
"I know it is Christmas ... but this is a legitimate typhoon," he tweeted. "Please evacuate, I will bring lechon [whole roasted pig] to the evacuation centres."
More than 48,000 people moved to evacuation centres in the province, local authorities said.
In nearby Abay province, more than 76,000 people spent the night in evacuation centres or moved in with relatives and friends living away from coastal communities.
The weather bureau raised storm warnings in 38 provinces, including Manila, which the typhoon is expected to pass on Monday.
