Signal No. 3 up in 16 areas as Ulysses intensifies, moves closer to Quezon-Aurora area

Sixteen areas in Luzon remained under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3 as Typhoon Ulysses intensified further and continued to move closer towards Quezon-Aurora area, PAGASA said Wednesday afternoon.

Under TCWS No. 3 as of 2 p.m. are:

•     southern portion of Quirino (Maddela, Nagtipunan)
•     the southern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castaneda, Dupax Del Norte, Dupax Del Sur)
•     Pangasinan
•     Nueva Ecija
•     Aurora
•     Tarlac
•     Zambales
•     Bataan
•     Pampanga
•     Bulacan
•     Metro Manila
•     Rizal
•     Cavite
•     Laguna
•     the northern and central portions of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta, Real, Mauban, Sampaloc, Lucban, Tayabas City, Sariaya, Candelaria, Dolores, Tiaong, San Antonio, Lucena City, Pagbilao, Atimonan, Padre Burgos, Unisan, Agdangan, Gumaca, Plaridel, Pitogo, Macalelon, Lopez, General Luna, Catanauan, Buenavista, Guinayangan, Tagkawayan, Calauag, Quezon, Alabat, Perez) including Polillo Islands
•     Batangas

Meanwhile, the following areas are under TCWS No. 2:

•     the rest of Quirino
•     the rest of Nueva Vizcaya
•     the southern portion of Benguet (Bokod, Itogon, Tublay, La Trinidad, Sablan, Baguio City, Tuba)
•     the southern portion of La Union (Burgos, Naguilian, Bauang, Caba, Aringay, Tubao, Pugo, Santo Tomas, Rosario, Agoo)
•     the rest of Quezon
•     Marinduque
•     the northern portion of Occidental Mindoro (Paluan, Abra de Ilog) including Lubang Island
•     the northern portion of Oriental Mindoro (Pola, Victoria, Naujan, Baco, Calapan City, San Teodoro, Puerto Galera)
•     the rest of Camarines Sur
•     Albay
•     Sorsogon
•     Burias and Ticao Islands
•  

Under TCWS No. 1 are the following:

Luzon

•     Isabela
•     Kalinga
•     Mountain Province
•     Ifugao
•     the rest of Benguet
•     Abra

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•     Ilocos Sur
•     the rest of La Union
•     the rest of Occidental Mindoro
•     the rest of Oriental Mindoro
•     Romblon
•     the rest of Masbate

Visayas

•     Northern Samar
•     the northern portion of Samar (Santo Nino, Almagro, Tagapul-An, Tarangnan, Calbayog City, Santa Margarita, Gandara, Pagsanghan, San Jorge, San  de Buan, Matuguinao)
•     the northern portion of Eastern Samar (Maslog, Dolores, Oras, San Policarpo, Arteche, Jipapad)

At 1 p.m., the center of Ulysses was located 125 kilometers north northwest of Virac, Catanduanes or 95 km northeast of Daet, Camarines Norte with maximum sustained winds of 135 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 165 kph. It is moving westward at 20 kph.

PAGASA said Ulysses will move generally westward throughout the forecast period and pass over the seas north of Camarines provinces between Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The center of Ulysses is forecasted to make landfall over Polillo Islands and mainland Quezon between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Afterwards, Ulysses will cross Central Luzon and emerge over the western seaboard of Zambales on Thursday morning.

PAGASA said Ulysses might reach its peak intensity of 135 to 155 kph prior to landfall. Ulysses might slightly weaken as it crosses mainland Luzon due to frictional effects in the presence of Sierra Madre and Zambales Mountain Ranges. However, it is still likely to remain a typhoon throughout its traverse.

Hazards

The weather bureau said destructive winds and intense, with at times, torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eyewall and inner rainbands of the typhoon will prevail over the northern portions of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte until Wednesday night and over Aurora and the northern portion of Quezon from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, throughout the passage of Ulysses, destructive typhoon-force winds will be experienced in areas under TCWS No.3, while damaging gale to storm-force winds will prevail over areas under TCWS No. 2. Areas under TCWS No. 1 will have strong breeze to near gale conditions.

In other areas, the rest of Northern Luzon will experience strong breeze to gale-force winds due to the surge of the northeast monsoon.

Moreover, heavy to intense, with at times, torrential rains will prevail over Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes until Wednesday night, while moderate, with at times, intense rains will be experienced over Albay, Sorsogon, Quezon including Polillo Islands, and Burias and Ticao Islands.

Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and Visayas will have light to moderate, with at times, heavy rains.

Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, heavy to intense, with at times, torrential rains will prevail over  Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan.

Moderate to heavy, with at times, intense rain will also be experienced over Cordillera Administrative Region, mainland Cagayan Valley, Catanduanes, Marinduque, the northern portion of Mindoro provinces, and the rest of Central Luzon, while light to moderate, with at times, heavy rains will prevail over the rest of Luzon and Visayas.

PAGASA advised affected residents to prepare for possible flash floods, landslides and sediment-laden streamflows during heavy or prolonged rainfall.

PAGASA also said there is a high risk of storm surge with heights up to 3.0 meters over the coastal areas of Quezon including Polillo Islands, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, and the northern and eastern coastal areas of Camarines Sur, while a storm surge of up to 2.0 m might be experienced over the coastal areas of La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela, Zambales, Aurora, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, northern portions of Mindoro provinces including Lubang Island, Marinduque, Romblon, Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands, Albay, and Sorsogon, and the remaining coastal areas of Camarines Sur.

“These storm surges, which may be accompanied by swells and/or breaking waves near the coast, can cause life-threatening and damaging coastal inundation. Moreover, there is also a moderate risk of seiche or storm surge over the coastal areas surrounding Laguna de Bay,” PAGASA said.

Further, within the next 24 hours, rough to very high seas (2.5 to 10.0 m) will be experienced over the seaboards of areas under TCWS and the eastern seaboard of Eastern Samar currently not under TCWS No. 1.

PAGASA said the surge of the northeast monsoon will also bring rough to high seas (3.0 to 6.0 m) over the remaining seaboards of Northern Luzon and rough seas (2.5 to 3.5 m) over the seaboards of Kalayaan Islands.

Moderate to rough seas (1.5 to 2.5 m) will also prevail over the western seaboards of Palawan including Calamian Islands, and the eastern seaboards of Mindanao.

“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.

Malacañang on Wednesday suspended work in government offices and classes in public schools at all levels in seven regions in Luzon ahead of the expected onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.

Earlier in the day, several local government units and schools announced work and class suspension as they brace for Typhoon Ulysses. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) also announced the cancellation of several international and domestic flights due to inclement weather.

Residents from areas prone to hazards like flooding and landslides have been evacuated. Ahead of the typhoon’s landfall, the Office of Civil Defense V said over 3,000 families have been evacuated in Bicol.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have also alerted their respective disaster response units in areas which will be directly hit by Typhoon Ulysses.—AOL/RSJ, GMA News