Evacuation Underway as Huge Typhoon Nears Philippines, China

A member of the Philippine Air Force stands in front of a satellite image of Typhoon Mangkhut, locally named Typhoon Ompong, at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council operations center in metropolitan Manila, Philippines on Sept. 13, 2018. Aaron Favila/AP Photo

MANILA, Philippines—Typhoon Mangkhut retained its ferocious strength and slightly shifted toward more densely populated coastal provinces on Sept. 14 as it barreled closer to the northeastern Philippines, where a massive evacuation was underway.

More than 4 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.