Philippines braces for major storm

Typhoon Hagupit - Filipino for 'smash' - is generating wind gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hour (149 mph), as it moves across the Pacific around 700 kilometers off the eastern coast of the Philippines.

Weather forecasters say the typhoon will intensify and likely hit eastern islands on Saturday, barreling along the same track as typhoon Haiyan, which devastated large parts of the Philippines' central islands in November 2013.

Haiyan left more than 7,000 dead and missing, and a million people without homes.

The government said it was considering declaring a state of emergency to freeze prices of basic goods, amid an outbreak of panic buying. Witnesses reported long lines at grocery stores and gas stations.

President Benigno Aquino has ordered more food and supplies to be sent to regions at risk.

"We want to bring in a lot more supplies to cut down on panic buying," Aquino told a televised meeting of disaster chiefs. "Let's prepare for everything."

One of the worst-hit cities by last year's Haiyan was Tacloban, with some residents there leaving vulnerable coastal areas and heading inside a sports stadium. Hotels in the city of more than 200,000 people were running out of rooms.

The Philippine military is on full alert to help evacuate danger zones and assist with relief and rescue efforts. Food packs, medicines and body bags have been sent to far-away villages that could be cut off by heavy rains.

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said typhoon Hagupit would generate sustained winds of 305 kilometers per hour and gusts of 370 kilometers per hour, at around the time it is expected to make landfall. If correct, this would make the storm nearly as powerful as Haiyan.

The Philippines sees an average of 20 major storms a year.

jr/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)