‘Auring’ now a tropical storm; storm signals up over Palawan

Project NOAH MTSAT image as of 11:01 PM, January 3, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—“Auring” has intensified into a Tropical Storm while crossing the Sulu Sea as it moved closer to Palawan, the weather bureau said late Thursday night.

Public storm warning signal No. 2 was hoisted over southern Palawan while signal No. 1 was raised over the rest of the province.

As of 10 p.m., the center of Tropical Storm Auring was located 110 kilometers south of Puerto Princesa City, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in a bulletin.

It was packing maximum winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph, Pagasa said.

It was forecast to move west at 28 kph, Pagasa added.

Pagasa said Auring was expected to be at 660 km southwest of Puerto Princesa City or outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Friday night.

The weather bureau alerted residents living in low lying and mountainous areas under public storm warning signal Nos. 1 and 2 against possible flashfloods and landslides.

Likewise, those living in coastal areas under signal No. 2 are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical storm.

Pagasa also advised fishing boats and other small seacrafts not to venture out into the eastern seaboards of the country and over the northern and western seaboards of northern Luzon due to the northeast monsoon and over the western seaboard of Visayas and Mindanao due to the tropical storm.