Haiyan was packing maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 250 kph as it neared the Philippines, the weather bureau said.

epa03940525 A Filipino boy scales a brakewater at a coastal village in Las Pinas city, south of Manila, Philippines, 08 November 2013. Thousands of people fled from coastal communities and areas prone to landslides in the eastern Philippines, as the country prepared for what was expected to be the worst typhoon to hit this year. President Benigno Aquino urged the public to cooperate with the authorities to minimize the impact of Haiyan, which was stronger than Typhoon Bopha that left more than 1,800 people dead or missing in 2012. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG