Manila - The Philippines on Tuesday braced for a typhoon that was expected to make landfall over the country's northernmost provinces, the weather bureau said.

Typhoon Nuri was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 160 kilometres per hour as it bore down on the northern Philippines.

The weather bureau said Nuri was moving at 22 kilometres per hour. It is forecast to reach Cagayan province, 360 kilometres north of Manila, by Wednesday.

Authorities raised storm signal warnings over more than 20 northern provinces.

"Residents along the coastal areas under storm warnings are alerted against big waves and storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone," the bureau said in a bulletin.

In June, Typhoon Fengshen caused an estimated death toll of 1,300 people when it battered a wide area of the Philippines, sinking a passenger ferry and causing floods and landslides. (dpa)