Cyclone Betty (international name: Mawar) has weakened into a typhoon while traversing the Philippine Sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Saturday evening, May 27.
(MB Visual Content Group)
Sustaining maximum winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 215 kph, Betty was last seen 895 km east of Central Luzon or 935 km east of Northern Luzon. The state weather bureau, in its latest bulletin, said the typhoon is expected to gradually decelerate within 72 hours and “become slow-moving to almost stationary” by Tuesday, May 30, while in the waters east of Batanes.
“Betty will resume moving towards the north or north northeast by mid Wednesday, May 31. This typhoon is forecast to remain as a typhoon throughout the forecast period, although it is expected to gradually weaken until Tuesday. Afterwards, [an] increasingly unfavorable environment while moving northward or north northeastward on Wednesday or Thursday will result in a faster weakening rate,” said PAGASA.
Apart from causing strong to heavy rains in Batanes, Babuyan Islands, the northern portion of mainland Cagayan, Apayao, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur, Betty may also enhance the southwest monsoon, also known as “habagat,” beginning Monday, May 29, posing threat to MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, and the western portion of Luzon.
“Flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely, especially in areas susceptible to these hazard[s],” PAGASA furthered.
Due to the weather disturbance, tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) number one remained hoisted in the following areas: Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Apayao, Ilocos Norte, the northern and central portions of Abra, Kalinga, the eastern and central portions of Mountain Province, the eastern and central portions of Ifugao, the northern and central portions of Aurora, Quirino and the northeastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya.