Typhoon Nesat also forced the closure of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the US embassy in the city.

At least two people were killed and another four were reported missing.

As the storm approached, the authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 people in the central Albay province.

The typhoon is expected to continue across the country, before blowing across the East Sea towards southern China on Thursday.

The Philippines suffers frequent typhoons - but Nesat is thought to be the largest this year.

"This typhoon is very wide in diameter, about 650km, and covers most of Luzon," Graciano Yumul, who supervises the country's weather bureau, said.

It comes almost exactly two years after Typhoon Ketsana killed more than 400 people.