After lashing the southern Philippines early Tuesday, massive typhoon Bopha is moving fast towards the East Sea with winds of up to 180 kph, the Vietnam National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center said. Typhoon Bopha struck the southern island of Mindanao shortly before 4:45 a.m., the Philippines’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center reported. According to local authorities, the storm packed maximum wind speeds of 175 kph as it came ashore over the city of Baganga, and millions of people were in the storm's path, CNN reported. More than 40,000 people have crammed into shelters to escape the onslaught of the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, according to the Herald Sun. After landfall, the massive typhoon is moving towards the East Sea at 25 kph and may reach the area on December 5 or 6, said Le Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Vietnam National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center. After entering the East Sea, the typhoon will change direction towards northwest and north-northwest. The typhoon will cause rough seas and winds of 63-87 kph in the southeast area of the East Sea from the morning of December 5. Near the eye of the typhoon, wind speeds will be much more powerful, reaching over 132 kph. However, as the storm is among the last in the storm season, Bopha will likely weaken at sea and is not expected to make landfall in Vietnam, Hai said. Meanwhile, a cold front that formed in northern Vietnam is moving south. Due to the front, from December 5 the Gulf of Tonkin between Quang Tri to Quang Ngai provinces, and the northern area of the East Sea, will experience strong northeast winds of up to 62 kph and gusts of up to 87 kph. Rough seas will also affect these areas, the center said. Rain will occur in northern provinces, and provinces in the northern area of Central Vietnam. It will be very cold in mountainous areas.