Philippines braces for Super Typhoon Haima

Sarika made landfall on China's Hainan island on Tuesday - weakening into a tropical storm before reaching the border between southern China and northern Vietnam on Wednesday, Weather.com reported.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director Bernardo Rafael Alejandro said the Philippine Coast Guard cancelled all inbound and outbound vessels sailing in Catanduanes following the raising of the storm signal.

Aid agencies were on standby on Wednesday to respond to the strongest typhoon to threaten the Philippines in three years, which was due to make landfall later in the day with widespread damage expected.

"We are ready to respond immediately if required, and will be assessing the damage and humanitarian needs as soon as the storm has passed", Mr. Olney said.

Super Typhoon Haima hit the northern province of Cagayan at about 11.00pm on Wednesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rains nearly on a par with catastrophic Super Typhoon Haiyan which claimed more than 7,350 lives in 2013.

But it has a huge 700-km diameter, where moderate to heavy rainfall is expected.

Nevertheless, the areas directly in Haima's path are not densely populated and are well-drilled in storm preparations.

The Philippine islands are often the first major landmass to be hit by storms that generate over the Pacific Ocean. About 20 major storms are recorded in Southeast Asian archipelago each year with majority inflicting casualties.

Haima was located near 15.7 degrees north latitude and 129.1 degrees east longitude, about 474 nautical miles east of Manila, Philippines.

Matt McGarry, country representative for Catholic Relief Services - one of many NGOs preparing to support affected communities in the Philippines - told TIME that this would be the fourth typhoon he'd seen in two months but "there's definitely a different feeling around this one".

"We are possibly dealing with a typhoon that is even stronger than Typhoon Yolanda", said executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, referring to the local name for Haiyan, a 2013 Typhoon that killed over 7,000 people and displaced more than 5 million others.

"If we talk about typhoons that entered the Philippines, this is the second strongest next to Haiyan", Estareja said. The storm will be felt in its highest strength in Luzon on Thursday, before approaching southern Hong Kong and southern China.