news agency.

“There are large ash deposits on the slopes. Heavy rain can dislodge them and bury our homes in mud.”

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center has forecast sustained winds of 231 kilometres per hour and gusts of 278km/h when Nock-Ten makes landfall.

The typhoon will affect an area populated by nearly 42 million people, including the capital Manila, which was forecast to be hit on Monday.

Earlier, civil defence officials said nearly half a million people in the region were in harm’s way and needed to be evacuated.

The government called for pre-emptive evacuations in the region on Friday, with nearly 4,000 residents moving into emergency centres and more than 8,000 others seeking shelter elsewhere, according to an official tally.

Evacuations were continuing early on Christmas Day with trucks provided by thetelevision.

He said residents of seaside slums in Manila have also been warned to leave their homes.

Storm surges devastated the city of Tacloban and nearby areas when super typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.

An average of 20 storms and typhoons strike the Philippines each year, routinely killing hundreds of people.