Two confirmed deaths in Philippines super typhoon: Police

Two women were killed Saturday in a landslide set off by Super Typhoon Mangkhut, Philippine police said, the first reported deaths in the massive storm.

Officers in the city of Baguio recovered the women's bodies from the soil and rubble after a hillside collapsed from the typhoon's heavy rains, said police Superintendent Pilita Tacio.

Super typhoon Mangkhut left a trail of damage after making landfall in the northern Philippines on Saturday (September 15).

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Super Typhoon Mangkhut, a category 5 storm, entered Cagayan province on the main island of Luzon in the early hours and was moving through the night over the country's northern tip with maximum gusts of 285 kph.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas where warnings were issued about possible storm surges of 3-6 metres. Floods, landslides and widespread property destruction is expected.

The typhoon also enhanced the southwest monsoon, triggering flash-floods in the western regions of Luzon Island.

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

A fierce typhoon bringing winds of over 200 km per hour made landfall in the northern Philippines on Saturday, bringing powerful gusts, heavy rainfall and causing power outages in some areas.

Police and disaster response teams were reported in some areas driving around the dark streets looking for people in distress.

Mangkhut, locally named Ompong, has a diameter of about 900 km (559 miles) and gathered pace as it reached the Philippines, moving at about 35 kph.