MANILA: Super Typhoon Man-yi battered the Philippines on Saturday, with the national weather forecaster warning of a `potentially catastrophic and lifethreatening` impact as huge waves pounded the archipelago`s coastline.

More than 650,000 people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, which is the sixth major storm to hitthe disaster-weary country in the past month.

Man-yi brought maximum wind speeds of 195 kilometres (121 miles) per hour as it made landfall on the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon, the weather service said, adding gusts were reaching 325 kilometres an hour.

Waves up to 14 metres (46 feet) high pummelled the shore of Catanduanes, while Manila and other vulnerable coastal regions were at risk from storm surges reaching up to more than three metresover the next 48 hours, the forecaster said.

Power was shut down on Catanduanes ahead of the storm, with shelters and the command centre using generators for electricity.

`We`re hearing sounds of things falling and things breaking while here at the evacuation centre,` Catanduanes provincial disaster operations chief Roberto Monterola told AFP afterMan-yimadelandfall.

At least 163 people died in the five storms that pounded the Philippines in recent weeks, leaving thousands homeless and wiping out crops and livestock.

Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.

Man-yi could hit Luzon the country`s most populous island as a super typhoon on Sunday, crossing north of Manila and sweeping over the South China Sea on Monday.-AFP