Cyclone Paeng (international name: Nalgae) is now a severe tropical storm, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on early Saturday morning, Oct. 29.
Severe tropical storm Paeng was last spotted over the coastal waters of Virac, Catanduanes, packing maximum winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 130 kph. It is moving west northwestward at 30 kph.
Brace for torrential rains, storm-force winds
The state weather bureau, in its latest bulletin issued at 2 a.m., said Paeng may pass very close to Bicol Peninsula before crossing the CALABARZON-Manila area on Saturday, Oct. 29.
With this development, residents were strongly advised to brace for heavy to intense rains throughout the day. The intense rains, for an instance, will persist over Bicol region, Western Visayas, Quezon, Polillo Islands, Marinduque, Romblon, Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro until Saturday morning.
Paeng will then begin to drench Metro Manila and nearby areas with intense rains as it further traverses the Luzon landmass.
“Heavy to intense rains to at times torrential rains possible over Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro ,” said PAGASA.
“Widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides are expected,” it furthered.
PAGASA is still not ruling out the possibility of a landfall scenario over the Albay-Catanduanes area in the next 6 hours. Paeng may weaken into a tropical storm after its interaction with the Luzon landmass.
Wind Signals in effect
The weather disturbance continued to threaten almost the entire archipelago with torrential rains and severe winds, as a result, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals were raised in several Philippine areas.
Wind Signal No. 3 was hoisted in Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, the northern portion of Camarines Sur, and the extreme eastern portion of Quezon. Storm-force winds may be experienced in these areas within 18 hours.
Areas under Wind Signal No. 2 include Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands, the rest of Camarines Sur, Marinduque, the rest of Quezon including Polillo Islands, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, the southern portion of Aurora, the central and southern portions of Nueva Ecija, the central and southern portions of Tarlac, Pampanga, Bataan, the central and southern portions of Zambales, the northern and central portions of Oriental Mindoro, the northern and central portions of Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Islands, Romblon, Northern Samar, the northern portion of Eastern Samar, and the northern portion of Samar.
Within 24 hours, gale-force winds may prevail in the aforementioned localities.
Meanwhile, Wind Signal No. 1 was raised over the central and southern portions of Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province, the southern portion of Ilocos Sur, La Union, the rest of Aurora, the rest of Nueva Ecija, the rest of Zambales, Pangasinan, the rest of Tarlac, the rest of Oriental Mindoro, the rest of Occidental Mindoro, and the northern portion of Palawan including Calamian and Cuyo Islands, the rest of Samar, the rest of Eastern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Cebu including Bantayan and Camotes Islands, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Guimaras, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Siquijor, the rest of Leyte, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte including Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands, the northern portion of Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, the northeastern portion of Agusan del Sur, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental.
Strong winds may be experienced in places under Wind Signal No. 1 within 36 hours.