Death toll in Philippines Mangkhut typhoon rises to 25: Official

The death toll in Philippines Mangkhut typhoon has risen to 25, AFP informed on Sunday, as the typhoon makes its way out and heads to China and Hong Kong.

"As we speak... there are 25 dead," Francis Tolentino, the government's lead disaster coordinator, told AFP as reports began to emerge from regions cut off by the typhoon.

The super typhoon Mangkhut entered the Philippines as a super typhoon in the early hour of Saturday and left a trail of damage after causing landfall.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Known locally as Ompong, Typhoon Mangkhut at one point had maximum gusts of 305 kph (190 mph) before it exited the land area before noon and moved towards southern China and Vietnam with reduced wind speeds of 170 kph (106 mph).

Some 105,000 people were staying in temporary shelters after mass evacuation of coastal areas of the Philippines following major storm surge warnings.

State weather agency PAGASA downgraded its threat level, but warned the danger was far from over, with storm surges and heavy rains that had caused flooding and dozens of landslides across Luzon, home to about half the Philippines' 105 million people.

Mangkhut's peak winds are stronger than those of Hurricane Florence, which has left more than 630,000 US homes and businesses without power and could drop eight months' worth of rain on the Carolinas in two or three days.

The typhoon recalls memories of the deadliest storm on record in the Philippines - Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 - which killed more than 7,000. However, preparation and evacuation procedures have been improved since then.

Meanwhile, leaving the Philippines behind on Saturday evening, Typhoon Mangkhut then aimed for Hong Kong and southern China, where it was expected make landfall on Sunday.

More than 500 flights have been cancelled at one of the world's busiest airports as Hong Kong prepares for the typhoon.

Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan braced for Mangkhut as it moved across the South China Sea with winds of nearly 200 kilometres per hour.

The storm is predicted to pass Hong Kong today, bringing with it downpours and heavy winds, before slamming into the Chinese mainland on Monday morning.