Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4 was raised on Sunday evening, Sept. 29, as Typhoon “Julian” (international name “Krathon”) further strengthened and moved closer to the northernmost part of Luzon, based on the 8 p.m. bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

As the typhoon approaches, Signal No. 4 has been hoisted over Batanes, while Signal No. 3 has been raised over Babuyan Islands.

Signal No. 2 remains in effect for mainland Cagayan, Apayao, and llocos Norte, while Signal No. 1 is still up over Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and the northern and central portions of Aurora.

As of 8 p.m., the center of Julian was located 150 kilometers east-southeast of Basco, Batanes. 

The typhoon has maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 170 kph.

If it continues its northwestward movement at 15 kph, PAGASA said Julian is expected to make landfall or pass very close to Batanes by Monday morning or afternoon, Sept. 30.

It may continue to intensify over the next 48 hours, potentially reaching super typhoon status before making another landfall in southern Taiwan, thus Julian could still be near or over Batanes during this intensification period.

PAGASA has warned of “stormy” weather in Batanes, Cagayan, including Babuyan Islands, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte over the next 24 hours, with a risk of flash floods or landslides due to heavy to intense rainfall.

“Rainy and gusty” conditions are also expected to affect Aurora, the rest of Ilocos Region, the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley. Flash floods or landslides may also occur due to moderate to occasionally intense rainfall.

Meanwhile, the trough or extension of Julian may bring cloudy skies with scattered light to occasionally heavy rainfall and thunderstorms to Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and the rest of Central Luzon.

The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.