MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines is bracing for a typhoon heading for the northeast of the main island of Luzon and expected to make landfall on Sunday, bringing heavy to intense rainfall, the weather bureau said.

Packing centre winds of 140 kph with gusts of up to 170 kph, Typhoon Noul was expected to hit the Isabela-Cagayan provinces on the eastern seaboard.

It was moving west northwest at 17 kph.

Noul is the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. An average of 20 typhoons cross the archipelago annually with Super Typhoon Haiyan the most destructive in recent years, leaving more than 8,000 people dead or injured in 2013.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it was alerting regional and provincial authorities to make preparations, including stockpiling food, water and medicines and readying temporary shelter areas.