A typhoon has killed at least 440 people and left hundreds more missing when it hit the southern Philippines in the late hours of Friday night, forcing over a hundred thousand people from their homes.

The typhoon hit the island on Mindanao, with wind gusts up to 56mph, causing flash floods and landslides.

Some of the hardest hit areas were the cities of Cagayan De Oro and Iligan. More than 400 people are missing from Iligan with houses completely destroyed by the storm.

The authorities have been evacuating families to safer locations and it is not yet know the full extent of the damage.

Ferries and planes were canceled due to the lack of visibility and has left hundreds stranded.

The Philippines are hit by around 20 typhoons a year causing deaths and destruction but many are saying this is the worst they have ever experienced.

Over 150 earth tremors have been recorded on the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands since Tuesday 27 September 2011 which has caused worry and speculation over the risk of stronger quakes or a volcanic eruption.

Preparations are being made for a mass evacuation of El Hierro which homes 10,000 people and is a popular travel destination.

The Canary Islands sit on the African tectonic plate, and when this shifts it allows a ball of magma to rise towards the surface, causing a risk of volcanic eruption on the islands. The last volcanic eruption of El Hierro occurred in 1793.

Theorists also believe that a volcanic eruption and subsequent landslide on the adjacent island of La Palma, could result in a mega-tsunami that would affect the east coast of America and South America, Western Europe and Africa.

Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

Monitoring program – World Organization of Volcano Observatories

A typhoon in the Philippines, given the name Nanmadol, has caused floods and landslides, claiming the lives of 8 people. There have been evacuations of affected areas and businesses and schools have been closed. The flooding and landslides have blocked major roads and bridges have collapsed in the storm. The islands were battered by winds of 145 mph as the storm raged.

The storm is heading north towards Taiwan at 10 kilometres per hour with raging winds of around 85 mph and is expected to make landfall early on Monday morning.

New York City and other areas along the east coast of America are feeling the force of the category 1 hurricane. Irene was set to hit the New York City area at around 2 am Monday, however it appears to have struck before expected. The eye of the storm has almost reached New York City and there have already been signs of flooding and damage as the water level rises and limbs of trees are broken off, which are a risk to power lines. Images of Long Beach show waves pounding the shore, causing worry about beach erosion which is costly to repair.

The downgraded hurricane is whipping winds up to 75mph and the storm surge has caused the water level around New York City to rise up to 4 feet and is expected to rise further to 8 feet when the high tide time arrives. There are thought to be more than 3 million people without electricity since early Sunday morning.

The site of the World Trade Centre is said to be at risk of flooding, only two weeks before the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attack.

Some of the affected areas have ordered mandatory evacuations but some people have chosen to ride out the storm in their homes and hope for the best.

Irene has made landfall on the New Jersey coast, causing some waves up to 20 feet high, and is nearing New York City. At 8 am ET the storm was 40 miles SSW of the city and has increased speed to 25 MPH. The storm surge is currently at 3.5 feet but is expected to double.

There have been 11 deaths so far, a much lower number compared to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans in 2005, which is possibly due to the number of warnings put out to residents and vacationers before the storm, and the large numbers of evacuation shelters opened to house people during the storm.

The Red Cross released and app for people in the affected areas, who still have power, to find the nearest shelter if they decide to leave their homes. The free app, called Shelter View is available through the app store, on the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.

There is also an app for tracking the path of the hurricane with satellite images and animations called Hurricane Tracker for $3 (£1.99) in the app store.

There has been no estimate of damage to the city so far but is expected to get worse before any estimates can be drawn.

For more information on the path and strength of the storm visit the NHC website and for information of the storm surge risk check the NHC Storm surge maps.

The East coast of America is preparing for the uncertain impact of hurricane Irene some at some time around the beginning of next week. The hurricane is thought to hit around the Boston on Monday at 2 am EST but the scale of the hurricane could possible die down before that time and the weather can range from mildly wet and breezy weather to winds around 75 MPH.

This comes within a week of a 5.8 scale earthquake which hit Virginia and shook as far as Maine and Georgia. The damage of the earthquake is already estimated at loosely around $100 million and the looming hurricane could substantially raise the estimate.

To track the path of Hurricane Irene and stay up to date on any changes visit The NHC website.