The second of a four-stage storm alert was raised over part of the central and southern Philippines, with the storm forecast to slam into Samar island from the Pacific coast late Friday.

Nepartak is heading due west at 19 kilometers (12 miles) an hour and the eye should have moved across to the South China Sea by early Sunday.

About 19 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines every year, killing an average of 500 people annually since 1970, official records show.

TERRA.WIRE