‘Ambo’ moves northwest of PH; storm signal lowered in Samar

MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression “Ambo” maintained its strength as it moved northwestward although Signal No. 1 was lowered in Samar, state weather forecasters said Friday.

But the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in an earlyy bulletin that the same warning signal remained over Catanduanes.

As of 4 a.m., Ambo was seen 260 kilometers northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar. It has maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center and is forecast to move northwest at 17 kph.

Catanduanes will have rains with gusty winds with moderate to rough seas while the rest of the country will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespreads rains over the rest of the eastern section of Southern Luzon and of Visayas which may trigger flashfloods and landslides, Pagasa said.

Estimated rainfall amount is from 10-15 millimeters per hour (heavy) within the 400-km diameter of Ambo, it also said.

Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out into the eastern seaboards of Luzon, Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao, it added.

By Saturday morning, Ambo is forecast to be 330 kilometers north-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes or 320 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora.