DHAKA: Typhoon Hagupit has weakened as it continues to slowly sweep across the Philippines, causing some damage.

At least three people have been killed since the storm made landfall on Saturday but it does not appear to have been as severe as many had feared.

Around a million people have taken shelter in evacuation centers, reports the BBC.

But correspondents say Hagupit is nowhere near as powerful as Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands of people last year.

In Tacloban, badly hit by Typhoon Haiyan, roofs have been blown away and streets are flooded, but the area has escaped the wider devastation of last year.

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez told the BBC that the immediate task was assessing damage to the temporary shelters in which some people have been living.

He said that the weather was good now but that high tides were making it harder for waterways to drain, despite work to clear debris.

At 4:00am on Monday (local time), the storm was 110km (70 miles) northwest of Masbate City with maximum sustained winds of 120kmh (75mph) near the centre and gusts of up to 150kmh, government forecaster Pagasa said. It was forecast to move northwest at 10kmh.

At its height, as it approached land on Saturday, gusts of up to 250kmh were recorded.

BDST: 1217 HRS, DEC 08, 2014