More areas under Storm Signal No. 3 as Nona hits Sorsogon

Typhoon Nona (international name Melor) made landfall for the second time on Monday, bringing heavy rains and winds in its wake.

The typhoon hit Bulusan in Sorsogon province at around 5 p.m. Monday. It had made its first landfall in the country earlier in the day, just before noon, in Samar. It packed maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

State weather agency PAGASA raised Public Storm Signal No. 3 in 10 areas, as it estimated heavy to at times intense rainfall within the typhoon's 300-km diameter.

Public Storm Signal No. 3 is now up over:

• Sorsogon
• Masbate, including Ticao and Burias Islands
• Albay
• Camarines Sur
• Camarines Norte
• Catanduanes
• Southern Quezon
• Marinduque
• Romblon
• Northern Samar

Storm Signal No. 2 is up in:

• Batangas
• Rizal
• Laguna
• Cavite
• The rest of Quezon, including Polillo Island
• Oriental Mindoro
• Occidental Mindoro, including Lubang Island
• Eastern Samar
• Samar
• Biliran

Flash floods and landslides are expected over the areas under signals No. 2 and 3, while storm surges of up to 3 meters are possible.

Storm Signal No. 1 us hoisted over:

• Metro Manila
• Bulacan
• Bataan
• Pampanga
• Southern Zambales
• Southern Aurora
• Coron
• Leyte
• Northern Cebu, including Bantayan and Camotes Islands
• Aklan
• Capiz
• Northern Antique
• Northern Negros Occidental
• Northern Iloilo

Feeling the brunt

Sorsogon province was already feeling the brunt of the typhoon in the hours before it made landfall.

"Hinahagupit na kami dito," Raden Dimaano, Sorsogon's Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said in an interview with DZBB on Monday afternoon.

He added that local executives in the provinces have conducted forced evacuations in seaside communities.

Electricity in the province has been on and off, Dimaano added, while rains has been intermittent in Sorsogon City.

Travel has been suspended since Sunday at Matnog port.

In Matnog, Sorsogon, authorities have begun forced evacuations at several areas, particularly those in danger of storm surges.

"Ang apektadong barangay sa bayan ng Matnog sa ngayon ang most vulnerable ay 'yong 21 coastal barangay, ang 6 dito ay nasa poblasyon," Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Roy Adolfo C. De Vera told GMA News.

"Ang mga barangay na mahihina ang signal ng celphone ready naman sila. Ang isinasagawa naming ngayon ay bahagi na ng force evacuation."

About 40 domestic flights were grounded, while 73 ferries and hundreds of fishing boats were ordered to remain in port as Nona hit the village of Batag on the northern tip of Samar island.

Disaster authorities have temporarily closed schools and some offices and evacuated about 750,000 people in three provinces. About 8,000 people were stranded after the Coast Guard stopped ferries and fishing boats from leaving ports in the central Philippines.

Effect on Metro Manila

Residents of National Capital Region and provinces in southern Luzon should also brace for Nona's effects.

The typhoon is expected to cut west on a path south of Metro Manila, but its 300-kilometer diameter will still bring heavy winds and rains to the nation's capital and much of southern Luzon.

"Kahit hindi direktang tatamaan ni Nona ang Maynila, mararamdaman pa rin nito ang epekto ng bagyo. Makakaasa tayo ng malakas na ulan at hangin ngayong Martes at Miyerkules," said GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz.

"Sa Metro Manila, maaasahang maulap bukas ng umaga na may konting pag-ulan. Maaasahan ang moderate rains sa hapon, at asahan nating malakas ang ulan sa NCR sa Miyerkules," he added.

Nona is forecast to weaken significantly over the next 24 hours, possibly becoming just a tropical storm by Tuesday afternoon.

"Ang interaction nito sa kalupaan, pati na rin ang malamig na hanging dala ng Amihan, ay makakatulong sa pagpapahina nito," said GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz. —with Reuters/JST, GMA News