Usagi was a typhoon in the South China Sea Friday morning Philippine Time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest advisory. The typhoon had sustained wind speeds of 81 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane if it were in the Atlantic Ocean.

Typhoon Usagi weakened sharply on Friday after bearing down on the Philippines' northern towns, blowing away houses in its path as authorities brace for another storm that could hit the capital Manila over the weekend.

An unusually prolific spurt of typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean has swirled near the Philippines over recent weeks — and now two more storms could threaten the archipelago over coming days. Category 4 Typhoon Usagi and Tropical Storm Man-yi are next on the list of storms expected to strike the region,

The storm made landfall on the island of Luzon. Forecasters warned of torrential rain and landslides in the north of the country.

Typhoon Usagi struck the northern Philippines on Thursday afternoon, the fifth powerful storm to impact the country in three weeks, with the system set to swing north and move toward Taiwan.