Packing maximum winds of over 220 kph, super typhoon Hagupit is moving towards the Philippines and will make landfall on Saturday before entering the Bien Dong (East Sea), the Viet Nam National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting has warned.

The super typhoon, which is building strength over the Pacific, is slowly bearing down on the region devastated by Typhoon Haiyan a year ago.

The expected path of super typhoon Hagupit

Philippines authorities are taking urgent measures to cope with the super typhoon, as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 4.5 million people will be affected by the super typhoon, according to the BBC.

Millions of people in the central Philippines are subject to evacuation, while all government offices and schools have been ordered to be shut down, BBC said.

At 7 am on Friday, December 5, the super typhoon was about 470 km east of the Philippines’ Samal Island, with minimum winds of 201 kph and gusts of 202-220 kph, the Viet Nam National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said.

The typhoon is moving west at 10-15 km and at 7 am Saturday it will be s180 km east of the island, with winds of up to 183 kph and squalls of over 220 kph, the center said, adding the powerful storm will later hit the central Philippines.

After landfall, the storm will likely continue its course and enter the Bien Dong, the center added.

According to the BBC on Friday, Hagupit, or "Ruby" in the Philippines, with gusts of up to 250 kph, is forecast to reach land on Saturday.