Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country’s northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday.

Its strong winds knocked down power, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and prompted the defense chief to warn millions to evacuate to safety from high-risk villages before it was too late.

Packing winds of up to 185 kph (115 mph) and gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph), the typhoon was spotted by government forecasters early on Sunday about 125 kilometers (78 miles) northeast of the town of Virac in Catanduanes province.

Fung-wong, which is called Uwan in the Philippines, was expected to track northwestward and make landfall on the coast of Aurora or Isabela province later on Sunday or early Monday, state forecasters said.

They predicted the typhoon could end up covering two-thirds of the Southeast Asian archipelago with its 1,600-kilometer- (994-mile-) wide rain and wind band.

The super typhoon approached from the Pacific while the Philippines was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 204 people dead in central island provinces on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong.

Tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185 kph (115 mph) or higher are categorized in the Philippines as a super typhoon, a designation adopted years ago to underscore the urgency tied to such extreme weather disturbances.

Authorities in northern provinces to be hit or sideswiped by Fung-wong preemptively declared the shutdown of schools and most government offices on Monday.

Several domestic flights were canceled in threatened provinces, and more than 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in at least 86 seaports, where the coast guard prohibited ships from venturing into increasingly rough seas.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.