‘Egay’ grows even stronger; Signal no. 2 up over Batanes

Typhoon "Egay" gained more strength as it continued to move in a northwest direction Thursday afternoon, prompting the weather agency to raise Storm Signal no. 2 over the Batanes islands. In its 5 p.m. advisory, Pagasa said "Egay" was 420 kilometers east-southeast of Aparri, Cagayan or 480 km north-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes as of 4 p.m. "Typhoon 'Egay' will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon which will bring occasional rains over Luzon and the western section of the Visayas," Pag-asa said. Bobby Rivera, weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, said over radio station dzBB on Thursday early evening that they have ruled out the scenario of Egay (international name: Sepat) making landfall in Luzon. Still under Storm Signal no. 1 were Cagayan, the Babuyan Islands, Isabela and Catanduanes. "Egay" packed maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour near the center with gustiness of up to 250 kph, and was moving northwest at 15 kph in the general direction of Batanes-Taiwan area. In its earlier 11 a.m. advisory, Pagasa had said the typhoon packed 205 kph winds near the center. "Egay" was forecast to be 300 km northeast of Aparri, Cagayan or 200 km east of Basco, Batanes by Friday afternoon, and 250 km north-northwest of Basco, Batanes Saturday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon, it was expected to be 570 km north-northwest of Basco, Batanes or 280 km west of Taipei, Taiwan. Pagasa cautioned residents along coastal areas under storm signals to be on watch against big waves and storm surges generated by the typhoon. It urged those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides. Meanwhile, Pagasa forecast the Batanes group of islands will have stormy weather while Cagayan including Babuyan islands, the provinces of Isabela, and Catanduanes will experience rains and gusty winds and the coastal waters along these areas will be rough to very rough. Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon will have occasional rains while the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over Visayas and the rest of Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest with slight to moderate seas. -GMANews.TV