A powerful typhoon slammed into the southern Philippines Tuesday, killing at least 40 people. More than 50,000 were forced to flee from flooded villages.

Typhoon Bopha hit at dawn, with winds close to 100 miles an hour toppling trees, triggering landslides, and flooding villages.

The southern Philippines is unaccustomed to strong typhoons.

"This typhoon is not a joke," President Benigno Aquino III said, following a meeting with top disaster-response officials. "But we can minimize the damage and loss of lives if we help each other."

The death toll is expected to rise once soldiers and rescue crews are able to get into villages isolated by flooding.