Source: DOST / Pagasa
More areas were placed under Signal No. 1 as Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) slowed down midday Thursday.
Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Group of Islands, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Isabela, Benguet, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Quezon including Polillo Island, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias and Ticao island were under Signal No. 1, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
“Ompong” was last spotted 725 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes, with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 255 kph.
It is moving westward at 20 kph.
Ompong, perceived to be the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year, will bring heavy to intense rains starting Friday.
It is expected to make landfall over Cagayan area on Saturday morning. /jpv