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Lashing with heavy winds and moderate to intense rains, Dodong’s eye passed over Pananapan Point in Sta. Ana, Cagayan 4:45 this afternoon.

The typhoon made landfall, bearing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 220 kph. Once it made contact with the land, it slowed down a bit, moving north northwest at 17 kph.

Based on PAGASA’s latest weather bulletin issued at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, here are the areas under public storm warning signals:

psws

In a press briefing held late afternoon in PAGASA, State Meteorologist Aldczar Aurelio said that after Cagayan, Dodong will head towards the Batanes area in the following hours.

If it maintains its current speed and direction, the typhoon is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Tuesday morning and will continue to move towards Southern Japan.

Source: DOST-PAGASA
Source: DOST-PAGASA

As for the expected weather conditions in the country tonight, the areas under signal #4 will continue to experience a stormy weather due to the typhoon. The provinces under signal #3 can expect rains with gusty winds. On the other hand, areas under signal #1 and #2 will have light to moderate rain showers. The rest of the country can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with localized thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, PAGASA releases a new gale warning over the eastern seaboards of Southern Luzon. These coastal areas will experience strong to gale force winds and rough to very rough sea conditions generated by Typhoon Dodong. All fishermen are advised against sea travel in the following hours.

gale

In other news, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) released an advisory today pertaining to the highly susceptible barangays in Sta. Ana, Baggao and Gonzaga in Cagayan.

Here is the list:

sta ana

baggao

gonzaga

PAGASA raised public storm warning signal #1 in Luzon and Visayas today as Typhoon Dodong continues to move closer to the Philippine landmass.

These areas will experience winds of up to 30 to 60 kph in at least a day and a half. Winds this strong may pose light damage to medium to low risk structures, and slight damage to some houses of very light materials or makeshift structures.

State Meteorologist Alvin Pura added that Metro Manila may not be included in the signal warning this weekend unless Dodong’s track goes lower than expected.

The typhoon currently packs 150 kph maximum sustained winds near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph. Pura said though there is a possibility of further intensification in the following hours, Dodong will not reach Super Typhoon status. However, once it hits land, a decrease in wind strength is expected before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The cyclone also slowed down a bit this morning, still moving west northwest now at 17 kph.

In the current forecast track, Pura states that Dodong is expected to move nearer to Bicol Region within 24 hours. It will also skirt the eastern section of Central Luzon before making landfall over the Isabela-Cagayan area Sunday morning. If it maintains its current speed and direction, the typhoon is expected to exit PAR late Monday or early Tuesday.

As for the weather today, based on PAGASA’s latest weather forecast, the areas under Signal #1 will experience rains with gusty winds. On the other hand, a rainy weather condition will also be experienced in Central Visayas, the rest of Eastern Visayas, and over the regions of CARAGA, Davao and Northern Mindanao. The rest of the country including will Metro Manila can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorm in the following hours.

Meanwhile, areas in the northern Luzon area currently experiencing dry spell will benefit from the rains the typhoon will bring. However, once Dodong passes, the area will continue to experience high temperatures.

Moving west slowly at 6 kilometers per hour, Tropical Storm Noul is still threatening to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) tomorrow, Thursday. At 4:00 AM today, it was estimated at 1,395 kilometers east of Surigao del Norte. Compared to yesterday, it has gained strength with maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 130 kilometers per hour. Once it enters the PAR, it will be given the local name “Dodong”, the first tropical cyclone for May and the fourth for this year.

PAGASA Weather Forecaster Jori Loiz said that two scenarios may happen. The first shows a possible landfall over the northern tip of Northern Luzon before it recurves. In the second scenario, the tropical cyclone will not hit any part of the country and will instead recurve northward, moving away from the landmass.

Loiz added that due to the slow pace of the tropical cyclone, it may start to dump rains in the country this weekend.

As Noul moves through the waters, it could still intensify due to the abundance of moisture and heat. Since the easterlies or winds coming from the Pacific Ocean are characterized by warm and humid air, these can also contribute to Noul’s intensification. All are advised to monitor updates as Noul approaches our boundary.

Today, the ridge or the extended part of a high pressure area is the dominant weather system prevailing over Luzon. Since Noul is still too far to affect the country, the whole archipelago will experience generally fair weather aside from possible isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Sea travelers and fishing boats can safely venture out into the seaboards due to the slight to moderate sea conditions. Meanwhile, temperatures remain high–Metro Manila will experience 24 to 35 degrees Celsius while Metro Cebu can expect 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Metro Davao has the highest range of 25 to 35 degrees Celsius.

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Strong earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake jolted Papua New Guinea on Tuesday. With a depth of 42 kilometers or 26.1 miles, the epicenter was located at 130 kilometers south-southwest of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), this earthquake has been preceded by a series of moderate to large quakes on this portion of the plate boundary over the past weeks.

These events began with a magnitude 7.5 on March 29, 2015, 110 kilometers to the northeast of the May 5, 2015 earthquake. Between the two powerful quakes, 25 other earthquakes of magnitude 5 and up have occurred in the same area. These include the magnitude 6.7 and magnitude 6.8 on April 30 and May 1 respectively.

The earthquake yesterday generated a small tsunami near the epicenter, which affected the power lines, and cracked walls of some establishments. However, no widespread damage was reported. The Geohpysical Observatory of Port Moresby said the tsunami did not rise beyond the normal level of high tide.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) issued its tsunami information:

tsunami

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The tropical storm with international name “Noul” continues to intensify as it slowly approaches the boundary. At 4:00 AM today, it was estimated at 1,495 kilometers east of Mindanao, packing winds of 85 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 100 kilometers per hour. Moving west-northwest at 9 kilometers per hour, it will possibly enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Thursday.

PAGASA Weather Forecaster Glaiza Escullar said Noul is expected to move closer to the eastern section of Luzon on Saturday morning, bringing rains and occasional gusty winds over the Bicol Region. Meanwhile in the afternoon, stormy weather will then occur in Marinduque, Rizal, Laguna and Quezon Province. Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas and Mindoro will have cloudy skies with rain showers and isolated thunderstorms.

By Sunday, Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Camarines Provinces, Central Luzon and the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan will experience stormy weather as Noul (Dodong) is expected to cross the Luzon area. PAGASA’s weekly weather outlook also shows that rains with occasional gusty winds will occur over the Bicol Region,and Northern and Central Luzon while MIMAROPA will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms. The rest of the country will experience generally fair weather aside from the chances of isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

However, Escullar clarified that this is just an outlook so changes may still occur. Noul could still recurve northward and change course in the next hours. All are advised to monitor updates from the weather bureau.

As of now, the said tropical cyclone does not have any effect yet on the country. Easterlies will prevail, bringing warm and humid weather in most parts of the country. Most parts of the archipelago will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

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