This is the breathtaking moment a huge waterspout tornado swirled across a bay in the Philippines as Typhoon Muifa approached the country.

Footage shows the twister with its curved funnel barreling across the coast of Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu province on September 10.

Onlooker Queenie Candelasa said it lasted for four minutes before dissipating. There were no reports of property damage or casualties.

State weather agency PAGASA said waterspouts usually form during thunderstorms.

Typhoon Muifa, locally known as Inday, entered the Philippines' monitoring area on September 7. It did not make landfall but it enhanced the effects of the prevailing southwest monsoons over the country.

Muifa is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Tuesday, September 13, PAGASA said.