Typhoon Hagupit is sweeping across the Philippines, toppling trees and power lines and threatening areas with heavy rain, flooding and mudslides.
About a million people have fled their homes for shelter. The storm has killed at least three people, officials say.
In Tacloban, where thousands were killed by typhoon Haiyan last year, roofs have been blown away and streets are flooded.
But Hagupit does not appear to have been as severe as many had feared.
Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, weakened on Sunday as it continued to move slowly across the Philippines.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 140km/h (90mph) and gusts of 170km/h (105 mph) at 17:00 local time (0900 GMT), government forecaster Pagasa said.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Legazpi, about 200km (125 miles) north of Tacloban, said Hagupit was clearly a powerful storm but nowhere near as powerful as Haiyan.
The authorities believed they were well prepared this time, he adds, but it could be some time before the extent of damage in more remote areas becomes clear.
Correspondents say the Philippines has undergone its largest peacetime evacuation in history.
