(Eagle News) – The country’s weather bureau, PAGASA, placed more areas in Luzon under tropical cyclone signal number, including Metro Manila and Rizal, as typhoon Ompong continued to move towards Northern Luzon packing winds of 205 to 255 kilometers per hour.
The eye of the typhoon, with the international name Mangkhut, was located based on all available data at 575 km East Northeast of Virac, Catanduanes (14.8 °N, 129.4 °E ) as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13.
The latest advisory showed at least 38 areas in Luzon under storm warning signal number 1, as well as Northern Samar in the Visayas region.
PAGASA said that occasional rains and gusty winds will be experienced in the areas under storm signal number 1 within the next 36 hours.
These areas in Luzon under storm warning signal number 1 are the following:
o Batanes
o Cagayan including Babuyan group of Islands
o Apayao
o Abra
o Kalinga
o Mountain Province
o Ifugao
o Isabela
o Benguet
o Pangasinan
o La Union
o Ilocos Norte
o Ilocos Sur
o Quirino
o Nueva Vizcaya
o Aurora
o Pampanga
o Bataan
o Zambales
o Tarlac
o Nueva Ecija
o Bulacan
o Rizal
o Metro Manila
o Cavite
o Batangas
o Laguna
o Quezon incl. Polillo Island
o Northern Occidental Mindoro incl. Lubang Is.
o Northern
o Oriental Mindoro
o Masbate
o Marinduque
o Camarines Norte
o Camarines Sur
o Catanduanes
o Albay
o Sorsogon
o Burias and Ticao island.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall in the Cagayan-Isabela area early morning of Saturday, Sept. 15.
Ompong is currently moving west northwest at 25 kph, and continues to threaten Northern Luzon.
“Moderate to occasionally heavy rains due to southwest monsoon over Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula and Visayas tomorrow (September 14). The weather condition will prevail in these areas until Saturday (September 15),” PAGASA’s latest advisory said.
“Fisherfolks and those with small seacrafts are advised not to venture out over the seaboards of areas under TCWS #1, the northern seaboard of Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboards of Visayas and of Mindanao,” it added.
