SUPER Typhoon Fung-wong battered the Philippines’ north-eastern coast ahead of landfall yesterday, leaving at least two people dead and forcing more than a million to evacuate from areas at risk of flash floods, landslides and tidal surges.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro warned many others to move to safety from high-risk villages before it was too late.

Fung-wong, with winds of up to 115mph, was projected to hit two-thirds of the south-east Asian archipelago with its 994-mile-wide band of rain and wind.

This came as the Philippines was still dealing with the devastation caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 224 people dead in central island provinces last Tuesday before pummeling Vietnam, where at least five were killed.

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

Mr Teodoro urged residents in the storm’s path to heed evacuation orders, warning that refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.

“We ask that people pre-emptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coastguard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.