At least 133 people have died with casualties sustaining their injuries on Friday night on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to local police.
Current weather maps detail Tembin (or Venta as it’s being called in the Philippines) path will strengthen before it moves away from the Philippines over the South China Sea by Monday.
Officials blamed landslides for wiping out entire villages and causing the majority of deaths.
Ryan Cabus, an official in Tubod town said: “We’re are still trying to confirm reports of a farming village buried by a mudslide.”
He said power and communication lines to the area had been cut, complicating rescue efforts.
The weather bureau said the storm had gathered strength over the Sulu Sea and was packing winds of up to 50mph and moving west.
The deaths were reported in various places including 39 in Tubod, El Salvador and Munai towns in Lanao del Norte province.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said: “Tembin is expected to strengthen into a typhoon before it crosses the southern tip of Palawan or the northern tip of Sabah on Saturday night.”
And, as Tembin strengthens, fishermen, and swimmers are being warned that the sea will become increasingly dangerous around the Sulu Sea.
Accuweather said that widespread rainfall of 125-500 mm (five to 10 inches) across southern Palawan and northern Sabah will raise the risk for flooding and mudslides into Sunday morning.
Localised flooding downpours may also spread across northern Palawan.
In Zamboanga del Norte province, police said 30 people had been killed in the town of Sibuco town and six in Salug.
It was heading out over the sea by mid-day on Saturday and would have moved clear of the Philippines by Monday, it said.
Emergency workers, soldiers, police and volunteers were being mobilised to search for survivors, clear debris, and restore power and communications.
Floodwaters washed away homes, made some roads impassable and forced hundreds to evacuate.
Three people were killed in Bukidnon province, while politicians in Lanao del Sur province said seven people had drowned in flash floods there.
At least 64 people were reported missing in floods and landslides, according to a tally of reports form officials and police.
The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons every year, bringing death and destruction, usually to the poorest communities of the poor Southeast Asian country.
Last week, 46 people were killed in the central Philippines when a typhoon hit.
In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless.