Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 2 has been raised for the central Luzon and the Cagayan valley meaning roofs could be torn off, power lines and trees knocked down and rice and corn plants could be damaged, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Yutu was the equivalent to a Category 3 storm, on the US Saffir-Simpson scale, with top winds dropped to about 195kmh (121 miles) down from 240kmh earlier, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said late Sunday US time. It was about 420km from Luzon’s east coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Wind shear was tearing at the storm’s structure and it could weaken to a Category 2 storm just before landfall, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines and home to some 53 million people.

“Manila will get a little bit of rain but the worst of it is well to the north,” said Jason Nicholls, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc in State College, Pennsylvania.

Northern Luzon was hit by Super Typhoon Mangkhut in September, a storm which went on to strike Hong Kong. At their peak both Mangkhut and Yutu had winds of 180mph, making them the strongest in the world this year.

Click to read last month’s devastation of Mangkhut in Asia

Yutu, called Rosita in the Philippines, on Wednesday became the strongest storm since 1950 to hit the US territories of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands.

At least one person died, many were injured and buildings were destroyed or damaged, according to a blog post by meteorologist Bob Henson of Weather Underground, an IBM company.

The mountains of Luzon will tear at Yutu’s structure and significantly weaken the storm before it emerges into the South China Sea Wednesday, Nicholls said.

After that, Yutu is forecast to drift north, possibly bringing rain to China’s southeast coast and parts of Taiwan by Friday.