The Philippines police said Thursday they will forcibly evacuate residents refusing to leave their homes in the direct path of an approaching super typhoon.

The order for a "pre-emptive evacuation" was handed down by Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro "in line with our zero casualty target", said national police spokesperson Leopoldo Bataoil.

He said the order covers communities in the shorelines of Cagayan province in the north-eastern seaboard of Luzon island, where Typhoon Parma was expected to make landfall on Saturday afternoon.

The state weather bureau said Parma was expected to develop into a super typhoon, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane that could cause widespread damage.

Already packing gusts of up to 185 kilometres per hour, Parma was still building up strength as it churned towards the eastern side of the Philippines, officials said.

It comes just days after storm Ketsana caused the heaviest flooding in over four decades in Manila and nearby areas, killing 277 and affecting over 2.5 million.

Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, commander of the region that covers Cagayan, said residents would be asked politely to leave when the typhoon begins lashing the area.

"We will first appeal on them to leave but if we see that they are in immediate danger, we will forcibly carry them to evacuation centres," he said.

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AFP

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