'Kabayan' now a typhoon, remains stationary

Tropical storm "Kabayan" (international codename: Peipah) intensified into a typhoon and remained stationary over northern Luzon, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 4 p.m., "Kabayan" was 230 kilometers west of Laoag City. It packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph, and was moving west at 9 kph. Pagasa said that by Wednesday afternoon, "Kabayan" is expected to be 450 km west of Laoag City, and 700 km west of Dagupan City by Thursday afternoon. Still under Storm Signal 1 are Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. Pagasa warned residents in coastal areas under public storm warning signal number 1 against possible big waves generated by "Kabayan." It also warned those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes to take all the necessary measures against possible flashfloods and landslides. The Batanes group of Islands will continue to experience strong winds with rough to very rough seas due to the surge of the northeast monsoon. Meanwhile, the low-pressure area spotted Monday was estimated at 320 km east northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar. Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur will have rains and gusty winds and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. The rest of northern Luzon and the western section of Central Luzon will be cloudy with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast and east will prevail over northern Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Light to moderate winds blowing from the southwest to southeast will prevail over the rest of Luzon and Visayas and coming from the west and northwest over Mindanao. The coastal waters along these areas will be slight to moderate. - GMANews.TV