Hong Kong cancelled dozens of flights and ferry services on Tuesday ahead of Typhoon Hagupit after the storm killed five people and left four missing in the Philippines.

Two of the people killed in the Philippines drowned in a swollen river in the central province of Antique, two were buried in landslides in the northern city of Baguio and one was electrocuted in the northern province of La Union, relief officials said.

Rescuers were also struggling to extricate 13 miners trapped in a flooded shaft of a goldmine in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila.

Emergency crews were still studying whether they could blow up the mine entrance to let out the water but it might cause the mine to collapse, said Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin, a regional police chief.

"We have not yet decided on what to do," he said. "The blast may do more harm than good."

In Hong Kong, schools and kindergartens were closed Tuesday afternoon, and ferry services to outlying islands were suspended as the fast-moving storm closed in on the high-rise city of 6.9 million.

Weathermen forecast the typhoon would brush past Hong Kong Tuesday evening before making landfall in southern China. A high storm signal was expected to be hoisted by 6 pm (1000 GMT) Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority said 47 flights had been cancelled Tuesday afternoon as high winds and squally rain lashed the former British colony.

The Philippine Weather Bureau said Hagupit had maximum sustained winds of 160 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 195 kilometres per hour and continued to generate rain and large waves as it moved away from the country.

Typhoon Hagupit, whose name means "lashing" in Filipino, raged across the northern Philippines Monday before heading out across the South China Sea.

It skirted Taiwan Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain across the island, but no damage or injuries were reported.

The Central Weather Bureau lifted the land warning for Hagupit early Tuesday as the storm was heading toward China's Guangong coast, the area between Hong Kong and Hainan Island. It was supposed to make landfall there late Wednesday.

Taiwan is affected by an average of two dozen typhoons a year.

Typhoon Sinlaku, which crossed Taiwan's northern tip on September 14, caused landslides in Taiwan's mountains, leaving at least 11 people dead and 11 missing.

Hong Kong was also hit directly by a typhoon three weeks ago, which caused the second highest storm signal - signal nine - to be hoisted. The storm caused little damage, however.