Typhoon Mangkhut path: TWICE as powerful as Florence - super-storm with 180mph winds

SUPER TYPHOON Mangkhut is gathering in strength and speed as it swirls towards the Philippines island of Luzon, with expected landfall on Saturday morning.

Super Typhoon Mangkhut is barrelling towards the Philippines with wind speeds of 180mph (285 km/h).

The fierce storm is even more powerful than Hurricane Florence which has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm with winds of 90mph as it makes landfall on North Carolina.

Mangkhut is carrying wind speeds of 180mph as millions are warned to stay out of its path.

The super typhoon is expected to make landfall on the Philippines island of Luzon early on Saturday morning.

READ MORE: Typhoon Mangkhut path tracker LIVE: THOUSANDS evacuate - Philippines ready for strike

Luzon is the Philippines’ largest and most populous island but the northern tip, where the typhoon is expected to pass, is largely agricultural and known as the country’s breadbasket.

Typhoon Mangkhut is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane and more than four million people are at risk in the north of the country.

Authorities evacuated more areas on Friday and more than 9,000 people have been moved to temporary shelters as Mangkhut makes it way toward the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela off the coast of Luzon, where it is forecast to make landfall overnight.

There are concerns Mangkhut will causes as much damage as Typhoon Haiyan did in 2013 which devastated a huge area of the country and killed more than 7,000 people.

Typhoon Mangkhut path:

Typhoon Mangkhut path: The super typhoon is edging closer to the Philippines (Image: JTWC)

Lanolin Carrilo, a spokeswoman for World Vision, a humanitarian organisation said: “We are bracing for the worst here.

“There is a sense of fear that we might be facing a storm as bad as Haiyan or Haima.”

Officials have warned the storm, which is 900km in diameter, will be powerful enough to remain a “considerable threat” even if it slows down before making landfall.

The storm has already wreaked havoc on Guam and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, causing widespread flooding and power loss.

Typhoon Mangkhut path:

Typhoon Mangkhut path: Volunteers prepare packed rice as aid to affected residents (Image: Getty )

Disaster officials warned tens of thousands more residents may need to be moved and weather forecasters warned of storm surges as high as six metres (19.6 feet) in coastal villages in the typhoon’s path.

The eye of the storm was about 150 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean at 4.30pm local time on Friday (9.30am BST) and was moving steadily towards Luzon at about 12.5 mph.

But the storm picked up speed and was about 340km east of the Philippines late afternoon on Friday and video posted on social media by Cagayan residents showed trees being whipped by fierce winds under lashing rain.

Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said he expected widespread damage to crops and infrastructure in his province and said help would be needed to rebuild.

Typhoon Mangkhut path:

Typhoon Mangkhut path: Residents walk through a deserted street in the Philippines (Image: Reuters )

He said: ”Last time we had a super typhoon, there were 14,000-plus of totally destroyed houses and about 40,000-plus of partially destroyed houses.

"We expect this kind of damage with a super typhoon like this and so we would ask the assistance of the national government and even the private sector."


People living in Hong Kong have been warned to prepare for the worst case scenario as the storm makes its approach towards the territory after pummelling the Philippines island of Luzon.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the track and wind strength of Mangkhut may change under the influence of the terrain of Luzon, but it will still remain a super typhoon after entering the South China Sea from the Pacific Ocean.