A worker uses a sheet of plywood to cover himself from the rain as Typhoon Mangkhut nears Cagayan province, northeastern Philippines on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Typhoon Mangkhut retained its ferocious strength and slightly shifted toward more densely populated coastal provinces on Friday as it barreled closer to the northeastern Philippines, where a massive evacuation was underway. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Areas under Signal No. 3 increased from 10 to 13 by Friday afternoon as typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut) accelerated closer to northern Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
The following areas are placed under Signal No. 3:
- Cagayan incl. Babuyan group of Is.
- Ilocos Norte
- Ilocos Sur
- Apayao
- Abra
- Kalinga
- Mountain Province
- Ifugao
- Nueva Vizcaya
- Quirino
- Northern Aurora
- Isabela
The following areas are placed under Signal No. 2:
- Batanes
- La Union
- Benguet
- Pangasinan
- Tarlac
- Nueva Ecija
- Southern Aurora
- Northern Zambales
The following areas are placed under Signal No. 1:
- Southern Zambales
- Pampanga
- Bulacan
- Bataan
- Rizal
- Metro Manila
- Cavite
- Batangas
- Laguna
- Quezon incl. Polillo Is.
- Northern Occidental Mindoro incl. Lubang Is.
- Northern Oriental Mindoro
- Masbate
- Marinduque
- Camarines Norte
- Camarines Sur
- Catanduanes
- Albay
- Sorsogon
- Burias and Ticao Islands
Ompong is expected to make landfall over Isabela-Cagayan area by Saturday morning.
It was moving west northwest at 25 kph, maintaining its maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph.
The typhoon was last spotted 470 kilometers east of Baler, Aurora. /kga
