Typhoon lashes the Philippines

Swirling ... NASA satellite image of Typhoon Megi

A SUPER typhoon lashed the Philippines with huge waves, torrential rain and ferocious winds this morning.

Electricity poles were toppled, one man drowned and massive emergency preparations were triggered after Typhoon Megi struck.

Thousands sought shelter while authorities warned millions of residents and rice farmers along the typhoon's path to prepare for damage to crops, homes and power lines.

Flood-ravaged areas of China and Vietnam were also bracing for more rains from the powerful storm.

Megi packed winds of 140mph and gusts of 162mph as it made landfall at Palanan Bay in north-eastern Isabela province.

It is expected to move on toward southern China, which has already evacuated more than 100,000 people from villages because of earlier flooding.

The typhoon, bringing nearly two inches of rain per hour, Megi was the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in four years, government forecasters said.

SURGING currents sucked a bus off a flooded highway and swept away 20 of its passengers, including a girl ripped from her mother's arms, as flooding caused 30 deaths in Vietnam