MANILA, Philippines — There are no longer storm warning signals over parts of Luzon as Tropical Storm Rolly (international name Goni), which was a super typhoon at its height, continues to move away from the country’s landmass, state weather bureau PAGASA said at a midday briefing.
A weaker Rolly was last seen 195 kilometers west of Subic, Zambales bearing maximum sustained winds of 65 kph and gusts of up to 80 kph. When it first made a landfall, the most powerful storm this year and a super typhoon at its peak had winds of 225 kph and gusts of up to 280 kph.
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Its catastrophic winds and intense rains knocked down power lines, ripped off roofs and triggered flash floods and mudslides when it pummelled across Bicol region and other parts of Southern Luzon Sunday. At least two million people have been affected by Rolly’s onslaught, with 10 reported deaths so far.
It came only a week after Typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave) battered the same region.
While all wind signals have been lifted, “occasional gusts” will still be experienced over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the northern portions of mainland Cagayan and Zambales.
Sea travel remains risky over the seaboards of Northern Luzon and western seaboard of Central Luzon due to rough to very rough seas. Meanwhile, moderate to rough seas will be experienced over the remaining seaboards of Luzon and the eastern seaboards of Visayas and Mindanao.
Moving west at 20 kph, Rolly is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Tuesday morning.
‘Siony’ maintains strength
Weather forecasters are also monitoring another tropical cyclone: Tropical Storm Siony (international name: Atsani). It is the 19th tropical cyclone to enter or develop within PAR this year.
At 10 a.m., Siony was last located 620 km east of Aparri, Cagayan with peak winds of 65 kph and gusts of up to 80 kph. It is heading west-northwest at 40 kph.
The trough or extension of Siony will dump light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Batanes, Cagayan and Isabela.
PAGASA said that the tropical storm is expected to move west-northwestward or northwestward until Monday evening before it slows down significantly and becomes “almost stationary” from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning. Then, Siony will head west-southwestward or westward toward extreme northern Luzon.
“Due to the projected erratic movement of this system in the next 48 hours, there is [a] high degree in the forecast track,” it said.
Due to its location, the Philippines, an archipelagic country, is exposed to a lot of disasters such as typhoons. Climate change is exacerbating the country’s exposure to disasters, making it one of the most vulnerable nations to its catastrophic impacts.
Forecast positions of Rolly
- Tuesday morning: 580 km west of Subic, Zambales (outside PAR)
- Wednesday morning: 925 km west of Southern Luzon (outside PAR)
Forecast positions of Siony
- Tuesday morning: 605 km east of Calayan, Cagayan
- Wednesday morning: 635 km east of Calayan, Cagayan
- Thursday morning: 345 km east of Aparri, Cagayan
- Friday morning: 230 km west of Calayan, Cagayan
- Saturday morning: 710 km west of Calayan, Cagayan (outside PAR)
— Gaea Katreena Cabico