(Eagle News) – Typhoon “Karen”, international name Sarika, has made landfall over Baler, Aurora and was estimated to be in the vicinity of Nueva Vizcaya as of 5 a.m. Saturday, October 16.
Ten areas remained under public storm warning signal number 3, namely Pangasinan, Northern Zambales, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Northern Quezon including Polillo Island, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino. These areas are experiencing wind speeds of 121 to 170 kilometers per hour.
Up to 14 meters of storm surges is possible in the coastal areas, PAGASA, the country’s weather bureau said.
Twelve areas were also under storm warning signal number 2. These are Ilocos Sur, Southern Isabela, Mt Province, Ifugao, Rest of Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Rest of Quezon and Camarines Norte. These areas are experiencing winds from 61 to 120 kph. Waves of four to 14 meters in height are possible in the event of storm surges along the coastlines of these areas, PAGASA warned.
Meanwhile, these areas were placed under storm warning signal number 1: Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Rest of Isabela, Southern Apayao, Southern Cagayan, Oriental Mindoro, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Marinduque and Camarines Sur. These areas will be experiencing winds of up to 60 kph in the next 36 hours.
Typhoon Karen is expected to traverse the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac this morning before finally exiting the landmass of the country via Pangasinan this afternoon.
Fisherfolks and those with small seacrafts are advised not to venture out over the northern seaboard of Northern Luzon and over eastern and southern seaboards of Southern Luzon.
Typhoon Karen is forecast to be outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Monday morning, October 17.