PAGASA: Chedeng maintains strength, storm signals up over 24 areas

Typhoon Chedeng maintained its strength and continued to move towards the Isabela-Aurora area, weather service PAGASA said in a Saturday morning bulletin.

At 4 a.m., Chedeng was 625 kms east-southeast of Casiguran, Aurora, with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near the center and gusts of up to 160 kph.

Chedeng was moving west-northwest at 19 kph, and was projected to make landfall over the Aurora-Isabela area sometime between 7-9 a.m. on Sunday. It was expected to exit the Luzon landmass over Ilocos Sur by Sunday evening, and exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday morning.

Public Storm Warning Signal 2 was up over Catanduanes, while Signal 1 was up over:

• Camarines Sur,
• Camarines Norte,
• Quezon including Polillo Island,
• Rizal,
• Bulacan,
• Pampanga,
• Tarlac,
• Nueva Ecija,
• Pangasinan,
• La Union,
• Ilocos Norte,
• Ilocos Sur,
• Abra,
• Apayao,
• Cagayan,
• Benguet,
• Kalinga,
• Aurora,
• Quirino,
• Nueva Viscaya,
• Ifugao,
• Isabela, and
• the Mountain Province.

Residents in low lying and mountainous areas under either Signal 2 or 1 were warned against flashfloods and landslides.

Storm surges and sea surface waves of up to 2 meters were also a danger over the eastern coast of Aurora, Quezon and Isabela.

Fisher folk were advised against sailing over the northern seaboard of northern Luzon, and the eastern seaboards of the Bicol Region and the Visayas.

Meanwhile, conditions over Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy, with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Winds in these areas will be light to moderate from the northeast to east, with slight to moderate seas. — Joel Locsin/DVM, GMA News