Residents evacuating pigs on a wooden boat today amid flooding brought by Super Typhoon Fung-wong in Pandan,Catanduanes province (Picture: AFP)

A super typhoon which forced over a million people to evacuate has already claimed two lives in the Philippines.

Super Typhoon Uwan lashed central and eastern parts of the country today,with heavy rain and strong winds cutting power in large areas of Bicol,with the largest island Luzon also expected to be badly hit.

One person drowned in Catanduanes,and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City.

Also named as Fung-wong,the storm is the 21st this year to hit a nation that normally has about 20 a year.

A tracker map of the typhoon’s path shows how it is cutting across the Southeast Asian archipelago:

It comes as the country is still recovering from Typhoon Kalmaegi,which killed 224 people in the Philippines and five in Vietnam.

In the latest storm,sustained winds of 115mph and gusts of up to 140mph have been recorded amid the massive rain bands,authorities said.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro urged people in the storm’s path to follow evacuation orders,warning that refusing to do so was dangerous and unlawful.

He said: ‘We ask that people to preemptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute,which could put the lives of police,soldiers,firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk.’

Around 2,000 troops have been redirected to focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster response,with the storm expected to be highly destructive.

In Isabela in northern Luzon,dozens of families were sheltering in a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.

Christopher Sanchez,50,who fled with his family,said: ‘We heard on the news that the typhoon is very strong,so we evacuated early.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel conducting road-clearing operations in Catanduanes province today (Picture: EPA)

‘We left our things on the roofs of our house,since every time there’s a storm,we come here because we live right next to the river.

‘In previous storms,the floodwaters rose above human height.

“We’re scared. We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.’