Rescue work was suspended and preemptive evacuations began Saturday as Typhoon Fung-wong bore down on the Philippines, days after another storm killed at least 204 people.

Fung-wong, expected to be a "super typhoon" before making landfall, bears a huge footprint, with a radius that could cover "almost the entire country," a government meteorologist said.

"Apart from the strong winds, we can also expect heavy rains ... 200 millimetres (eight inches) or higher rainfall, which can cause widespread flooding, not just in low-lying areas," meteorologist Benison Estareja told a press briefing Saturday.

"It's also possible that our major river basins will overflow."

As of 11 am (0300 GMT), the typhoon was moving westward toward the Philippines' main island of Luzon, with wind speeds of 140 kil

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