More than a million people evacuated: Highest alert level issued; fatalities reported; flights canceled PHOTO

The Civil Defense Office reported that one person drowned in Catanduanes, while firefighters found the body of a woman beneath the rubble of a collapsed house in the city of Catbalogan, Reuters reported.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro urged residents living in areas along the typhoon’s path to comply with evacuation orders, warning that refusing to do so is both dangerous and illegal.

“We are asking people to evacuate as a precaution so we don’t have to conduct last-minute rescue operations, which could put the lives of police officers, soldiers, firefighters, and coast guard personnel at risk,” Teodoro said in a public address.

The military has redeployed around 2,000 troops from field training to assist in humanitarian relief and emergency response operations.

Across the country, more than 300 domestic and international flights were canceled today, according to the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority.

According to the Philippine meteorological agency, the storm has intensified into a super typhoon with sustained winds of around 185 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching up to 230 kilometers per hour, the BBC reported.

The impact of the typhoon is already being felt in the eastern Bicol region, the first part of the Philippines to be directly hit. The Luzon area — the country’s most populated region — is expected to be affected by tonight, with the highest typhoon alert level, Category 5, currently in effect there.

Several schools in the Philippine areas expected to be hardest hit by Typhoon Fung-wong have either canceled classes on Monday or switched to online learning.