10 areas under Signal No. 2 due to Florita; heavy rain, severe winds over east, north Luzon

More areas were now under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 as Tropical Storm Florita maintained its strength while continuing to move westward over the waters east of Aurora, PAGASA reported Monday afternoon.

At 4 p.m., Florita was 155 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora, heading west at 15 kilometers per hour.

Florita had 75 kph sustained winds near the center, which can gust up to 90 kph.

PAGASA said Florita may further intensify into a severe tropical storm before its forecasted landfall over the coast of Isabela or the coast of Cagayan early Tuesday.

After making landfall, the tropical cyclone is expected to weaken slightly due to the frictional effects of the rugged terrain as it crosses the northern portion of northern Luzon.

Heavy rainfall and severe winds were expected over parts of the country due to Florita today until tomorrow, PAGASA said.

The Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) was likewise forecasted to bring monsoon rains over Southern Luzon and Western Visayas in the next 24 hours.

PAGASA warned the public against scattered to widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides due to these conditions.

Meanwhile, TCWS No. 2 was hoisted over:

• Cagayan
• Isabela
• Quirino
• the eastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castaneda, Dupax del Norte, Kasibu, Quezon, Bambang, Ambaguio, Bayombong, Solano, Villaverde, Bagabag, Diadi)
• Apayao
• the eastern portion of Abra (Tubo, Boliney, Bucloc, Daguioman, Sallapadan, Licuan-Baay, Malibcong, Lacub, Tineg, Lagangilang, Bucay, Manabo, Luba)
• Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Ifugao
• northern and central portions of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Baler, Maria Aurora)

TCWS No. 1 was also hoisted over:

• the Babuyan Islands
• the rest of Nueva Vizcaya
• th rest of Abra, Benguet
• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• the eastern portion of Pangasinan (Urbiztondo, Bayambang, Bautista, Alcala, Santo Tomas, Rosales, Balungao, Umingan, San Quintin, Natividad, Tayug, San Nicolas, San Manuel, Asingan, San Carlos City, Lingayen, Binmaley, Basista, Malasiqui, Villasis, Santa Maria, City of Urdaneta, Binalonan, Laoac, Manaoag, Pozorrubio, Sison, San Fabian, San Jacinto, Mapandan, Santa Barbara, Mangaldan, Dagupan City, Calasiao)
• the eastern portion of Tarlac (San Manuel, Moncada, Anao, Paniqui, Ramos, Gerona, Pura, Victoria, City of Tarlac, Concepcion, La Paz), Nueva Ecija, the rest of Aurora, the eastern portion of Pampanga (Magalang, Arayat, Candaba)
• the eastern portion of Bulacan (San Miguel, Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Ildefonso, San Rafael, Angat, Norzagaray, City of San Jose del Monte)
• the northeastern portion of Rizal (Rodriguez, San Mateo, City of Antipolo, Tanay, Baras)
• the northern portion of Quezon (Infanta, General Nakar, Real) including Polillo Islands
• the northern portion of Laguna (Santa Maria, Famy, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete), and Camarines Norte

— DVM, GMA News