Heavy, at times intense, rains seen in Batanes, Babuyan Islands

Moderate to heavy—at times, intense—rains are possible over Batanes and the Babuyan Islands due to Super Typhoon Henry which continued to slow down over the Philippine Sea, the weather bureau PAGASA has said.

According to PAGASA's Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, the center of the eye of Henry was estimated at 380 kms east of Itbayat, Batanes.

It had maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h near the center, gustiness of up to 230 km/h, and central pressure of 925 hPa.

Signal No. 1 has been raised over Batanes and the northeastern portion of Babuyan Islands.

Moderate to heavy rains with at times intense is forecast over Batanes and Babuyan Islands while light to moderate with at times heavy rains are possible over Ilocos Norte, Apayao, and Cagayan from Thursday evening to Friday.

On Saturday, moderate to heavy rains are expected over Batanes while the Babuyan Islands may experience light to moderate with at times heavy rains.

“Under these conditions, isolated to scattered flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard as identified in hazard maps, and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall,” said PAGASA.

Further, the weather bureau warned a Gale Warning remains in effect for the northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon due to the super typhoon.

“In the next 24 hours, Henry may bring moderate to rough seas over the eastern seaboards of Isabela (2.0 to 4.0 m), Central Luzon, and Southern Luzon (1.2 to 3.0 m). These conditions may be risky for those using small seacrafts. Mariners are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea and, if possible, avoid navigating in these conditions,” it said.

Henry is forecast to continue decelerating and may become almost stationary Friday morning. It may begin tracking slowly northwestward by Friday afternoon before eventually accelerating northward by Saturday.

On the forecast track, the super typhoon is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. —NB, GMA News