Residents battened down for Super Typhoon Kong-rey just days after Severe Tropical Storm Kristine battered the Philippines.

Footage shows locals boarding up their doors and windows with wood in Ivana town, Batanes province - where the typhoon is expected to come closest to the Philippines - on October 30.

State weather agency PAGASA said Kong-rey, locally known as Leon, intensified into a full-blown super typhoon today, October 30.

It is forecasted to skirt the northern tip of the country, moving northwestward across the Philippine Sea until it makes landfall on Taiwan's eastern coast on October 31 afternoon.

The agency said: 'This super typhoon will be near or at peak intensity during its closest point of approach to Batanes. The landfall of Leon over Taiwan will result in a continuous weakening trend for the rest of the forecast period.'

Kong-rey was expected to leave the Philippine monitoring zone on Thursday or Friday, PAGASA said.

The Philippines and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are at the start of their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms. The rudimentary infrastructure often struggles with the deluge, leading to widespread flash floods.