City braced for Hagupit storm surges

Marline Conde and his 1-year-old son, Marb Dunhill, are among millions who have fled from the fierce seas on the coast. Photo / AP

Typhoon kills three, topples power lines, and drenches villages as it nears Manila.

A powerful typhoon destroyed homes and flooded low-lying coastal villages in the Philippines, forcing a million people to flee to safety and reportedly leaving at least three dead.

Yesterday in the midst of the archipelago, Hagupit toppled power lines, caused torrential downpours and destroyed some of the makeshift palm thatch houses of those left homeless after last year's storms.

Two people, including a baby girl, died of hypothermia in central Iloilo province, disaster-response agency chief Alexander Pama said.

Another person died after being hit by a falling tree in the eastern town of Dolores, where the typhoon first made landfall, according to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Watch: Typhoon hits Philippines

"Many houses, especially in the coastal areas, were blown away by strong winds," said Stephanie Uy-Tan, the Mayor of Catbalogan on the island of Samar. "Trees and power lines were toppled, tin roofs were blown off and there is flooding."

Hagupit would be near the capital, Manila, today, said forecasters.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said more than 3000 residents of a shantytown on the edge of Manila Bay have been evacuated due to possible storm surges.

Like villagers in the central Philippines, Manila residents were readily moving to safety because they're still haunted by memories of Haiyan's devastation last year.

"That's still very fresh in their minds," Estrada said of Haiyan's tsunami-like storm surges and killer winds. Metropolitan Manila is home to more than 12 million people.

Authorities are predicting 4.5m storm surges and destructive winds as Hagupit makes its way across mostly poor central provinces.

In the city of Legaspi, residents expressed fear as ocean sprays crashed above the seawall and fierce winds roared ahead of the main front.

But reports suggested the eastern islands had been spared the devastation caused by Haiyan, which killed more than 7000 people and displaced more than four million.

Hagupit weakened after making landfall but still had winds of 120 km/h and gusts of 150 km/h. It is expected to continue to wreak havoc, affecting about 33 million people.

Watch:Powerful typhoon slams into eastern Philippines

The extent of the damage was hard to assess because power was out across large swaths of land and access to coastal villages was limited.

Aid agencies said as many as 30,000 people would need assistance in the aftermath, particularly in Samar and Leyte province.

Ben Evardone, a congressman for eastern Samar, said flooding was widespread and had made communications and access difficult.

Seven campers rescued in NSW

Seven campers, including two children, have been rescued by helicopter from rising floodwaters on the New South Wales south coast.

Two mothers and two children, aged 2 and 9, were rescued from rugged bushland near Moruya yesterday.

The helicopter returned to the site to rescue three other campers from the group.

Three men elected to stay in the hope of driving their 4WD vehicles out once floodwaters recede.

Emergency crews were brought in from regional areas as Sydney continued to be battered by wild storms, after more than a week of severe weather already.

Wild weather is forecast for most of the week.

- AP, AAP