Signal No. 4 to be raised over E.Visayas with Yolanda -Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines - Public storm warning signal no. 4 is expected to be hoisted over eastern Visayas once powerful typhoon Yolanda makes a landfall in the next few days, the state weather agency said.

PAGASA Senior Weather Forecaster Mario Palafox told a state news agency on Wednesday that Yolanda will directly affect sections of Visayas once it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility early on Thursday.

Palafox said that if the typhoon maintains its direction and speed as it pummels through Visayas on Friday, the agency will raise the highest storm warning signal.

Signal no. 4 conditions include “very strong winds of more than 185 kilometers per hour for at least 12 hours.”

Currently, Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) is packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and has gustiness of up to 185 kph, moving west northwestward, Palafox said.

Since it is still at sea, the typhoon may still continue to strengthen before it reaches land. The weather disturbance's current speed places it under the category of "super typhoon."

Palafox said Yolanda is forecasted to exit through Mindoro on Sunday.

PAGASA said in an advisory that Yolanda's possible impacts may include extensive damage to some agricultural plantations such as coconut, rice and corn, uprooting of many trees, severe damage to most residences and buildings of mixed construction and severe disruption of electrical power distribution and communication services.

Yolanda may also incur heavy overall damage to affected communities.