At least ten people have been killed and three others are missing as Typhoon Goni pounded the Philippines an initial government report showing it was the world's strongest typhoon this year, when it barrelled through the south of the Philippines' main island of Luzon on Sunday.
More than 300 houses were buried under volcanic rocks and mud flows from Mayon Volcano in severely hit Albay province in the Bicol region, a lawmaker said.
Storm surges hit some coastal towns, while rivers overflowed and dikes were destroyed, submerging several villages in Bicol.
The dead and missing were all in Bicol, including nine in Albay, the Office of Civil Defence said.
Earlier in the day, Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara reported that a five-year-old had been washed away in flash floods in his province. The disaster management agency was still validating the reports.
In Guinobatan municipality, Representative Zaldy Co of the Ako Bicol party list said more than 300 houses were buried under volcanic debris.
"Several people believed to be buried alive," the party list said in a statement accompanying photos of the destruction.
Goni weakened further after making landfall for a third time in Quezon province and a fourth time in Batangas before heading towards the South China Sea.
Goni comes a week after Typhoon Molave hit the same region of the natural disaster-prone archipelago and killed 22 people.
The world's strongest storm this year, which had reached a super typhoon category and brought violent winds and intense rainfall, further weakened with 125 kph (78 miles per hour) sustained winds and gusts of up to 170 kph, the weather bureau said.
In Quezon province, Governor Danilo Suarez said power supplies were cut in ten towns as Goni toppled trees.
President Rodrigo Duterte was monitoring the government's disaster response from his southern hometown of Davao city, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
Over 390,000 people had fled to safer ground, including more than 345,000 to evacuation centres, raising concerns about compliance with coronavirus-related health protocols.
Dozens of flights were cancelled as Manila's main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, was ordered shut for one day.
Airport workers walk in front of a Philippine Airline plane at Manila's airport. Source: AAP
The agriculture ministry expected minimal crop damage saying 1.07 million tonnes of unmilled rice and 45,703 tonnes of corn had been saved from the typhoon's onslaught as farmers were advised to take action ahead of its arrival.
Goni was one of the strongest storms to hit the Philippines since 2013's Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people.
The weather bureau said another cyclone, tropical storm Atsani, had entered the country and could gain strength
"The winds are fierce. We can hear the trees being pummelled. It's very strong," Francia Mae Borras, 21, told AFP from her home in the coastal city of Legazpi in Albay.
The roofs of two evacuation centres were torn off by the force of the wind and the occupants moved to the ground floors, the provincial public safety chief Cedric Daep told DZBB radio station.
"Flash floods inundated our villages," said Carlos Irwin Baldo, the mayor of Camalig, near Legazpi.
"Our roads have a lot of debris from the mountains such as branches and sand, some which came from Mayon (volcano). Some roads are unpassable."
In Manila, residents were being evacuated from low-lying slum areas at risk of being inundated by several metres high storm surges. The city's airport has been closed as the typhoon approaches.
Loud alarms blared from mobile phones as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council issued an emergency alert warning of "very destructive to devastating" winds for Manila and surrounding provinces in the coming hours.
Thousands of soldiers and police were on standby to help with evacuations and rescue efforts. Disaster agencies spent Saturday marshalling vehicles, emergency response teams and relief goods before the storm's arrival.
A man stands on the shore of Manila Bay in Manila Source: EPA
The weather service has warned of flooding and landslides as Goni dumps heavy rain across the already-soaked region.
Schools which have been empty since the start of the coronavirus pandemic are being used as emergency shelters as are government-run evacuation centres and gymnasiums.
Filipinos take shelter in tents inside a school gymnasium converted into an evacuation center before Typhoon Goni hits. Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
Covid-19 patients being treated in tent facilities have been evacuated, officials said.
The Philippines has recorded more than 378,000 infections, including over 7,100 deaths, which has stretched its resources and complicated evacuations.
Mary Ann Echague, 23, and her family fled their home in Legazpi on Saturday to an inland primary school where they were sheltering in a classroom with several other families.
"We fear the wrath of the typhoon," said Ms Echague, who was with her two children, parents and siblings. They had carried with them a portable stove, tinned meat, instant noodles, coffee, bread, blankets and pillows.
"Each time we're hit by a typhoon our house gets damaged, since it's made of wood and galvanised iron roofing," she said.
Nearly 2,000 people have been left stranded after the coastguard ordered ferries and fishing boats into port in expectation of rough seas throwing up 16-metre waves.
Goni was expected to "slightly weaken" as it crosses southern Luzon and enters the South China Sea late Sunday or early Monday as a typhoon, the state forecaster said.
But another tropical storm is already brewing off the coast and is expected to intensify as it nears the country in the coming days.
The Philippines was hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure, keeping millions of people perennially poor.
