Supertyphoon Lawin stalls but still on track for N. Luzon

Tropical Cyclone Warning No. 5 remains hoisted over Northern Luzon as Supertyphoon Lawin (international name: Haima) continues to close in on the country.

Lawin is forecast to make landfall in Cagayan or Isabela around 11 p.m. Wednesday at the earliest. It is expected to cross through Cagayan, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte before exiting Luzon on Thursday afternoon.

Most of Northern and Central Luzon is warned to brace for heavy rains late Wednesday through Thursday.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, PAGASA posited the cyclone some 275 km east-southeast of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph and gustiness of up to 315 kph.

As of 5 p.m., Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 5 was hoisted over the following areas, which should brace for storm surges and winds of over 220 kph within the next 12 hours:

• Cagayan
• Isabela
• Kalinga
• Apayao

Signal No. 4 was raised over the following areas, which can expect up to 5-meter storm surges and up to 220 kph winds within the next 12 hours:

• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• Abra
• Mt. Province
• Ifugao
• Calayan Group of Islands

Signal No. 3 was raised over the following areas, which can expect storm surges and up to 170 kph winds within the next 18 hours:

• La Union
• Benguet
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Northern Aurora

Signal No. 2 was raised over the following areas, which can expect up to 120 kph winds within the next 24 hours:

• Batanes Group of Islands
• Pangasinan
• The rest of Aurora
• Tarlac
• Nueva Ecija
• Northern Zambales
• Northern Quezon, including Polillo Islands

Signal No. 1 was raised over the following areas, which can expect up to 60 kph winds within the next 36 hours:

• Metro Manila
• The rest of Zambales
• Bulacan
• Bataan
• Pampanga
• Rizal
• The rest of Quezon
• Cavite
• Laguna
• Batangas
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes
• Albay

— GMA News