Tens of thousands of people have sought shelter as the powerful Typhoon Hagupit heads towards the Philippines.

Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, has gusts of up to 230km/h (143mph) and is due to hit land on Saturday evening.

It is on course for the Eastern and Northern Samar provinces and the city of Tacloban, where thousands were killed by Typhoon Haiyan a year ago.

Local residents, many of them still living in temporary shelters, are moving away from coastal areas.

President Benigno Aquino, who met disaster agency chiefs on Friday afternoon, has ordered food supplies to be sent to affected areas, as well as military troops and police officers to be deployed to prevent looting in the aftermath.

Local media reported Mr Aquino as saying there was “no indication” for now that Hagupit would be as strong as Haiyan.

Haiyan – known as Yolanda in the Philippines – was the most powerful typhoon ever recorded over land. It tore through the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,000 dead or missing.