Manila , Philippines ( CNN ) -- With memories of last year 's killer typhoons still fresh , Typhoon Megi roared across the Philippines on Monday , ripping through roofs and cutting off electricity . The cyclone 's peak wind speeds decreased as the system moved over the Sierra Madre mountains , but it still packed sustained winds of around 167 kph ( 103 mph ) with gusts up to 204 kph ( 126 mph ) , according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center . This is down from peak sustained winds of 212 kph , with gusts up to 259 kph ( 161 mph ) , over the weekend . Megi , also known as Typhoon Juan , was expected to pick up steam again as it heads over the South China Sea . Current forecasts from the Joint Typhoon Center show the storm heading toward the southeastern China coast , just west of Hong Kong . In the Philippines , five people have died in what the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is billing as the strongest storm of the year , according to Catherine Martin , manager of disaster management services at the Philippine National Red Cross . Emergency workers pulled the body of Vicente Decena , 53 , from a bloated river ; a tree fell on the house of Aileen Respicio , 20 , killing her and injuring her child . Five others were injured elsewhere , the disaster council reported . Even as it weakened , Megi continued to pose a serious threat . Trees swayed and relentless rains inundated roads . Storm chaser James Cabrera , who was in Luzon , said parts of the Philippines could see 300 to 500 millimeters ( 12 to 20 inches ) of rain . `` Unfortunately , this is a part of the world where the infrastructure is quite fragile , the power grid is quite fragile and a lot of people live in quite basic houses , '' James Reynolds , a storm chaser who is on Luzon , told CNN on Monday . `` We have learned our lessons from the grim experiences we had during typhoons Ondoy [ known internationally as Ketsana ] and Pepeng [ Parma ] , '' House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said , according to the Philippine News Agency . `` We must all cooperate because nature 's wrath exempts no one . '' A year ago , tens of thousands of people were in evacuation centers as four consecutive typhoons drenched the Philippines . About 500 people were reported dead . Journalist Eduardo Lingao in Manila contributed to this report for CNN .
Typhoon Megi , also known as Typhoon Juan , has weakened further over land . The storm is expected to regain strength as it moves over the South China Sea . Northern areas of Luzon have been battered by heavy rain and strong winds . Parts of the Philippines could get 300 to 500 millimeters ( 12 to 20 inches ) of rain .