Signal No. 1 raised over Catanduanes due to even stronger Rolly

Catanduanes was placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 as Typhoon Rolly intensified further as it moved westward over the Philippine Sea, PAGASA said Friday.

In its 5 p.m. severe weather bulletin, the state weather bureau said the eye of Rolly was located 980 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora at 4 p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 185 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph. It is moving westward at 20 kph.

PAGASA said Rolly is forecasted to move west-southwestward on Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. Afterwards, it will turn west-northwestward as it moves over the sea off the coast of the Bicol Region towards the eastern coast of the Aurora-Quezon area.

PAGASA added that the center eye of Rolly is likely to make landfall over the Aurora-Quezon area on Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Rolly is expected to intensify over the Philippine Sea and is likely to make landfall at intensity of 175 to 195 kph.

Hazards

PAGASA said the trough of Rolly and the northeasterly surface windflow will bring light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Bicol Region, Eastern and Central Visayas, Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, Batanes, Cagayan, and Isabela from Friday to Saturday morning.

The typhoon will likely bring heavy to intense rains over Northern and Central Luzon and Bicol Region, especially those areas along the Rolly’s track, beginning Saturday or Sunday.

Meanwhile, strong breeze to near gale conditions will be experienced in areas under TCWS No. 1 within 36 hours of the raising of the wind signal.

PAGASA said TCWS No. 1 might be raised over the northern portion of Northern Samar and the rest of Bicol Region in the next bulletin.

“Given that it is likely for this typhoon to continue intensifying prior to landfall, the highest possible TCWS that will be raised throughout the passage of this typhoon will be TCWS #4 (associated with destructive to very destructive typhoon-force winds),” the weather agency said.

A storm surge of up to 2.0 meters might be experienced over the coastal areas of Aurora, Quezon, Marinduque, Bicol Region, and Northern Samar, PAGASA added.

Moreover, rough to very rough seas will prevail over areas under TCWS, Northern Luzon, the eastern seaboards of Central Luzon and Quezon including Polillo Islands, and the northern seaboards of Camarines Provinces.

Moderate to rough seas will also be experienced over the eastern seaboards of Visayas and Mindanao and the remaining seaboards of Luzon.

“Mariners of small seacrafts are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea. Inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating in these conditions,” PAGASA said. -NB, GMA News