The time has come for the country to brace itself as another typhoon from the Pacific bears down on the Philippines. After forming due east of Guam and the Northern Marianas two Sundays ago, the weather depression formed into a storm and given the name Yutu, reaching Category 5 super typhoon status around the middle of last week. Come this past weekend, the storm entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and was named Rosita by PAGASA, with its course charted to go through Luzon. With severe conditions and nasty wave beginning to form, evacuation of Luzon’s east coast has begun in preparation for landfall Tuesday.
CNN Philippines reports that as of Monday, October 29, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services, has raised the dreaded typhoon signal number three on three provinces of Luzon, ahead of the imminent landfall of typhoon Rosita. The provinces in question are Isabela, Quirino and the northern part of Aurora, all of which have eastern coastlines that would bear the brunt of Rosita’s approach into Luzon. From its last reading at noontime, the typhoon was 400 km (249 miles) due east of the mainland, wind speeds clocking at 150 km/h and gustiness of 185 km/h.
REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST for #NCR_PRSD
Issued at: 5:00 PM, 29 October 2018
Valid Beginning: 5:00 PM today - 5:00 AM tomorrowpubfiles.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/ncrprsd/pf.pdf
While actual landfall is not until tomorrow morning, the signal number 3 areas can start moderate to heavy rains this evening, accompanied by winds strong enough to damage vegetation and infrastructure. While dangerous, these conditions are a bid milder than expected due to Rosita passing through the Northern Mariana Islands beforehand. Nevertheless, a storm surge of up to three meters high has been predicted not just in the signal number 3 areas but also in the coastal areas of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and La Union. PAGASA estimates that once inland, Rosita will pass through the provinces of Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet and La Union in a 24-hour period before exiting to the West Philippine Sea on Halloween, October 31.
Other Luzon provinces have also raised typhoon signals, distributed thusly:
SIGNAL NUMBER 2
- Abra
- Southern Aurora
- Benguet
- Cagayan
- Ifugao
- Ilocos Sur
- Kalinga
- La Union
- Mountain Province
- Nueva Ecija
- Nueva Vizcaya
- Pangasinan
- Northern Quezon including Polillo Island
- Tarlac
SIGNAL NUMBER ONE
- Apayao
- Bataan
- Batanes and Babuyan Islands
- Batangas
- Bulacan
- Camarines Norte
- Cavite
- Ilocos Norte
- Laguna
- NCR
- Pampanga
- Southern Quezon
- Rizal
- Zambales
Rosita is the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines in this year alone, two short now of the yearly average.
Image courtesy of PAGASA
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