‘Vinta’ slightly intensifies; Southern Palawan under Signal No. 2

Tropical storm “Vinta” slightly intensifies as it moves towards Sulu Sea. (Satellite image from Pagasa website)

Tropical storm “Vinta” slightly regained strength as it continues to move westward over the Sulu Sea, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Saturday.

The state weather bureau has placed Southern Palawan under Signal No. 2 while the rest of Palawan, the western section of Zamboanga del Norte, western section of Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay were placed under Signal No. 1.

Vinta packed maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.

The storm was last spotted 165 kilometers northwest of Zamboanga City, moving northwest at 20 kph.

“Scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains will prevail over Palawan, while scattered light to moderate with at times heavy rains is expected over Bicol region, Visayas, Mindanao, and the rest of MIMAROPA within 24 hours,” Pagasa said.

Sea travel remained dangerous over the areas with storm signals, the southern seaboard of Mindoro provinces and the western seaboard of Aklan and Antique due to the Vinta.                        /kga