‘Dodong’ lashes northern Luzon with strong winds

Strong waves hit a Filipino man as he retrieves rubber slippers along Manila bay, Philippines on Sunday, May 10, 2015.  AP

TYPHOON Dodong (international name Noul) unleashed more wind power than rains over 12 provinces in northern and central Luzon on Sunday.

Public storm warning signal number 4 was raised over northeastern Cagayan and Batanes provinces, including the nearby Babuyan and Calayan islands, where Dodong unleashed powerful winds of at least 171 kilometers per hour to 220 kph along with heavy to intense rains.

The storm warning signal is expected to remain raised over these areas on Monday (May 11) even as Dodong begins to exit from the Luzon landmass from the northern tip of Batanes.

Meteorologist Shelly Ignacio of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said they might lower warning signals in surrounding provinces on Monday.

The weather is expected to improve by Tuesday (May 12) morning when the typhoon shall have exited from the Philippine area of responsibility, according to Ignacio.

By the time the center of the typhoon made landfall over Pananapan Point in Sta. Ana, Cagayan about 4:45 p.m. Sunday, the typhoon packed maximum sustained winds of 186 kph (from 170 kph earlier in the day) and gusts up to 220 kph (from 205 kph).

While Dodong unleashed powerful winds, surrounding provinces that were outside the 100 kilometer-diameter of the typhoon experienced moderate to heavy rains.

“The winds were very strong but the rainfall was not as heavy,” Ignacio said.

The rest of Cagayan and adjoining Isabela and Apayao were under public storm warning signal number 3, as stormy winds are expected to reach at least 121 up to 180 kph.

The nearby provinces of Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Abra and the northern part of Aurora were placed under warning signal number 2 as winds could go from 61 up to 120 kph.

The rest of Aurora, Ilocos Sur and Quirino were under storm warning signal one, with winds from 30 to 60 kph.

The storm warning signals raised early Sunday over Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija were lowered by midday.

Pagasa warned against venturing out at sea in the affected provinces as waves in the open sea could reach up to 14 meters high.

Fishermen were also advised on rough seas in the eastern seaboard of southern Luzon.

PAGAS said storm surges could reach as high as two meters or 6.5 feet over the towns of Gonzaga and Sta. Ana, Cagayan. SFM/AC