By Marjaleen Ramos
Tropical storm "Falcon" has strengthened a bit as it moved northward, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported Thursday.
(PAGASA / MANILA BULLETIN)
In its 10 a.m. bulletin, “Falcon” was estimated to be 385 kilometers north northeast of Basco, Batanes, on Thursday morning. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph), gusting up to 90 kph and moving north at 20 kph.
Storm signal number 1 for the Babuyan group of Islands has been lifted and the signal warning over Batanes has been downgraded from 2 to 1.
Falcon is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Thursday night.
PAGASA also said the low pressure area (LPA) 250 km west northwest of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, could develop into a Tropical Depression within 48 hours.
The provinces of Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, and northern Palawan including Calamian and Cuyo Islands will experience moderate to heavy rains today.
Light to moderate and at times heavy rain can be expected in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.
Residents living in areas identified to be at risk of flooding and landslides were advised to take precautionary measures, coordinate with local disaster risk reduction and management offices, and continue monitoring for updates, especially the storm advisories and heavy rainfall warnings to be issued by PAGASA.
Two people were reported killed in Cagayan from severe weather caused by Falcon.
READ MORE: ‘Falcon’ leaves 2 dead in Cagayan
(Note: This has an updated story.)
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