Severe tropical storm ‘Pepito’ (Man-Yi) officially entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) late Thursday evening as Typhoon ‘Ofel’ (Usagi) continues to weaken though it remains a threat over parts of northern Luzon.
State weather bureau PAGASA placed several areas across Luzon and Visayas under tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) no. 1 in light of the new tropical storm, which was located at 945 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas as of 11:00 p.m.
‘Pepito’ is expected to develop into full-blown typhoon by Friday and may further intensify into super typhoon by Saturday. It was moving westward at 35 kilometers per hour with maximum sustained winds of 100 km/h near the center and gusts of up to 125 km/h.
According to PAGASA, ‘Pepito’ may landfall over the eastern coast of Central Luzon during the weekend based on its track forecast. This may still shift, however, within the range of the forecast confidence cone and possibly exit PAR by Monday.
“Although it is too early to exactly determine the specific areas to be affected by certain hazards and due to the shifting track forecast of ‘Pepito,’ most areas in Luzon and Eastern Visayas are at risk of heavy rainfall, severe wind, and, possibly, storm surge inundation from PEPITO which may cause considerable impacts,” the weather bureau warned.
Meanwhile, PAGASA said TCWS No. 4 is still hoisted over the northern portion of Cagayan, covering 16 municipalities, including Babuyan Islands even as Typhoon ‘Ofel’ continues to weaken over the coastal waters of Calayan.
‘Ofel’ is expected to exit PAR when it turns northward by Friday until Saturday over the sea west of Batanes, but forecasters were not ruling out its possible re-entry for the rest of the weekend. For these reasons, all areas affected by the said cyclone were advised to exercise extreme caution.
