INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) belied reports circulating online that a super typhoon named Lakas hit the country.
Lakas, which was supposedly as strong as Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) which pummeled the Philippines in November 2013, does not exist.
READ: Yolanda: Storm of the Century
“There is none,” the Pagasa weather division said in Filipino when asked by INQUIRER.net regarding Lakas.
Lakas is also not included in the list of names that Pagasa has for tropical cyclones that may enter or form within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) for 2024.
READ: Pagasa: Wet, cloudy Thursday in most of PH
A social media post claimed that Lakas had peak wind speeds or a gustiness of up to 250 kilometers per hour and that affected the southern area of the country. A link attached to the post that purportedly details the areas affected by Lakas, however, goes to an online shopping site when clicked.
Earlier on Thursday, Pagasa said the low pressure area last located off Samar has a low chance of developing into a tropical cyclone.