Philippine forecasters say Super Typhoon Mangkhut has slammed into the country's northeastern coast. Witnesses say the storm's ferocious wind and blinding rain ripped off tin roof sheets and knocked down power at the start of the onslaught.

Forecasters said early Saturday that the typhoon made landfall in the coastal town of Baggao in Cagayan province nearly two hours after midnight in the northern tip of the main Luzon island. It is an agricultural region of flood-prone rice plains and mountain provinces often hit by landslides.

More than 5 million people are at risk from the storm, which the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center categorizes as a super typhoon with powerful winds and gusts equivalent to a category 5 Atlantic hurricane.