UPDATE: Super-Typhoon in the Pacific

Typhoon Megi is gathering strength as it heads towards China, with winds surpassing 115 miles per hour.

Megi left a trail of destruction in the Philippines, where it made landfall on Monday as a Category 5 typhoon. Hundreds of families were evacuated in anticipation of the storm and hundreds of thousands left homeless.

Typhoon Megi is gathering strength as it heads towards China, with winds surpassing 115 miles per hour.

Megi left a trail of destruction in the Philippines, where it made landfall on Monday as a Category 5 typhoon. Hundreds of families were evacuated in anticipation of the storm.

NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

Typhoon Megi as it bore down on the Philippines, Monday, October 18, 2010.

UNICEF in the Philippines has pre-positioned supplies including water kits, non-food items and medical kits and will be sending assessment teams tomorrow to the affected areas.

Anticipating possible disruptions in schooling due to damaged schools or temporary shelter needs, UNICEF has also pre-positioned education and recreation materials.

Meanwhile, an alert has been issued to residents living in low-lying and mountainous areas for possible flash floods and landslides while residents in coastal areas have been warned for possible storm surge.

A typhoon of similar magnitude hit the Philippines in 2006, killing more than 1,000 people. In 2009, a series of storms affected over 3 million people in the region. To date, only 7 casualties have been reported as a result of Megi.

As UNICEF stands by to deliver assistance the Government of Philippines, it is also responding to hundreds of other natural disasters and emergencies worldwide.