The Hong Kong authorities are warning people of the approach of Typhoon Babs, heading towards the south China coast after wreaking havoc in the Philippines.

Winds are expected to intensify during the day and the government has opened several shelters.

The typhoon brought heavy rain to Taiwan, triggering landslides and swamping some northern areas.

Air, sea and land traffic was disrupted.

Around one-hundred and forty people are now known to have been killed in the Philippines as the typhoon, the second in a week, swept across the islands.

Officials said one of the worst-affected, Catanduanes, looked like a war zone.