PHILIPPINES – A super typhoon barreled toward the Philippines’ largest island on Sunday, as more than half a million people sought shelter from the latest in a string of powerful storms to threaten the country. Super Typhoon Man-yi, known locally as Pepito, made initial landfall on the coast of island province Catanduanes on Saturday night then churned through the sea toward the main island of Luzon’s coast. It’s expected to make a second landfall Sunday afternoon, according to the government’s meteorological agency PAGASA.

Man-yi is an unprecedented fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in less than two weeks, according to a CNN analysis of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s historical hurricane database. The storm’s course is projected to be farther south than the previous three typhoons, thus impacting many more people. PAGASA said Man-yi is expected to weaken significantly as it moves across Luzon, home to more than half the country’s population. But it still poses a “potentially dangerous and life threatening situation,” the agency warned on Sunday afternoon. Man-yi has maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (about 115 mph) near the center, and gusts of up to 230 kph (143 mph) according to PAGASA — the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. (CNN)

Photo: A super typhoon in the Philippines could have a “potentially catastrophic” impact, the state weather forecaster warned, with millions of people at risk from storm surges. (AP)