Public storm signals lowered as 'Queenie' moves away from RP

The state weather agency has lowered all public storm signals as typhoon "Queenie" continued to move away from the Philippines. The typhoon's center was spotted 250 kilometers west of the coastal city of Iba, Zambales in Central Luzon as of 10 a.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported in its 11 a.m. advisory. The weather agency forecast that Queenie (international name: Chebi) will be 640 km west of Iba by Monday morning. The Pagasa said the tyhpoon has accelerated slightly. It packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center, with gustiness of up to 150 kph. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) earlier reported that, as of 6 p.m. Saturday, the typhoon had displaced more than 8,500 residents. Most of the evacuees were from Pag-asa district in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija in central Luzon. They included 1,380 families or 8,280 persons from 14 villages in Pag-asa, San Jose City, who are staying at the Pag-asa evacuation center. At least 300 more persons from Poblacion in Dinapigue town in Isabela province were also relocated to safer grounds, the NDCC said. Portions of roads in the Bicol region were also rendered impassable by floods and landslides while power outages were reported in parts of northern Luzon. -GMANews.TV