‘Nina’ weakens, starts exit from RP territory

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon "Nina" (Hagupit) slightly weakened as it started exiting Philippine territory Tuesday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. In its 5 a.m. advisory, Pagasa said "Nina" was 280 km west-northwest of Calayan, Cagayan or 270 km northwest of Laoag City as of 4 a.m. But Pagasa said "Nina" will still continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over the rest of Luzon and Western Visayas. "Residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes are advised to take all the necessary precautions against possible flash floods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas under Storm Signal No. 2 are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this typhoon," it said. Pagasa said "Nina" packed maximum sustained winds of 160 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 19 kph. It said "Nina" is forecast to be 640 km northwest of Laoag City or 130 kms south-southeast of Hong Kong by Wednesday morning. Areas under Storm Signal No. 2 include Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Northwestern Cagayan, and Babuyan Island. Under Storm Signal No. 1 are Batanes, Calayan Group of Islands, rest of Cagayan, Kalinga, Abra, Mt. Province, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan. Meanwhile, Pagasa said Northwestern Luzon will experience rains and gusty winds with rough to very rough seas. The rest of Luzon and Western Visayas will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest to southeast will prevail over the rest of Luzon and the coastal waters along this area will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest with slight to moderate seas except during thunderstorms. - GMANews.TV