Super typhoon slams into northeastern Philippines

Haima, which has sustained winds of 225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 315 kph (195 mph), smashed inland in Penablanca town in Cagayan province shortly before midnight, weather officials said.

The government's weather agency raised the highest of a five-level storm warning in six northern provinces, which meant that powerful winds could inflict "very heavy to widespread damage" and whip up storm surges of up to five meters (16 feet), enough to engulf shanties in many rural communities.

In Beijing, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte urged people in the typhoon's path to heed orders by disaster agencies, including abandoning coastal communities prone to storm surges.

Thousands of villagers, helped by police and army troops, clambered on trucks with their children and bags of clothes, sleeping mats and cooking pots to be taken to emergency shelters.