The Philippine authorities evacuated people from coastal areas on Sunday and hundreds were unable to travel by sea as a super typhoon barrelled towards the country.
Super typhoon Noru was packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 185 km h 115 mph after an unprecedented explosion, the state weather forecaster said.
The strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year is expected to continue as it makes landfall about 80 km north-east of the sprawling capital, Manila, in the afternoon or evening local time.
The Philippine national police chief, General Rodolfo Azurin, said residents living in danger zones should adhere to calls for evacuation whenever necessary.
The Philippines is ravaged by storms, with scientists warning that they are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change.
Weather forecaster Robb Gile said Noru's rapid intensification was unprecedented. The agency said it increased by 90 km h in 24 hours.
Noru came nine months after another super typhoon devastated swathes of the country, killing more than 400 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Residents in several municipalities in Quezon province, where this latest storm could make a direct hit, were evacuated from their homes, according to Mel Avenilla from the provincial disaster office.
Helen Tan, the governor of Quezon province, told the DZRH radio station that "we asked our mayors to comply with strict preemptive evacuations." Fishermen in coastal communities were barred from going to sea, she said.
The residents of Dingalan municipality were forced to seek shelter in the neighbouring province of Aurora.
Noru could have wind speeds of up to 205 km h when it makes landfall, the weather bureau said.
It is expected to weaken to a typhoon as it sweeps through central Luzon before entering the South China Sea on Monday, heading for Vietnam.
The weather bureau warned of dangerous storm surges, widespread flooding and landslides as the storm dumps heavy rain.
It could damage farmlands in the heavily agricultural region, as well as inundate villages.
The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change and is hit by an average of 20 storms a year.