Stormy weekend seen for Northern Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – While still reeling from the aftermath of Typhoon “Pedring”, residents of the northernmost tip of Luzon should brace themselves for a stormy weekend, no thanks to a potentially powerful new storm.

Tropical Storm Quiel (international codename: Nalgae) is forecast to hit land either in Cagayan or the Batanes islands Sunday night if it maintains its current track and speed, and could intensify shortly into a typhoon before making landfall, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

Quiel, now classified as a severe storm, was packing center winds of 110 kilometers per hour and gusting up to 140 kph, but its impact on extreme northern Luzon would not be felt until it swirls closes to Cagayan Sunday morning, forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said.

“Extreme northern Luzon, including Cagayan, Batanes and Ilocos Norte, should brace for moderate to heavy rain with gusty winds,” he said in an interview. “It packs a stronger punch because its diameter is more compact than Pedring’s at 300 kilometers. It’s destructive.”

This early, residents in these areas should pack provisions, and those living close to landslide and flood-prone areas should move to safer places, while local government units should prepare contingency measures, Pagasa said.

Quiel swirled into the Philippine area of responsibility at around 4 a.m. Thursday, then packing center winds of 105 kph and gusting up to 135 kph.

By 10 a.m. Thursday, Quiel was swirling over the Pacific Ocean, some 1,150 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan. At a speed of 13 kph, it was moving westward toward Aparri. It was forecast to be be 870 km east of Aparri by Friday morning.

The storm, however, was still too far to affect the archipelago. Between now and Sunday, the weather “will be fine for most parts of the country,” Aurelio said.

Meanwhile, a low pressure area over the Pacific Ocean has dissipated.

Residents in most parts of northern Luzon continued to grapple with the aftermath of Pedring (international codename: Nesat), which unleashed powerful winds and heavy rain, knocking down power lines and trees, triggering floods and mudslides and spawning storm surges and swelling rivers, before exiting Wednesday afternoon toward southern China.

Several towns in northern Luzon provinces remained submerged in floodwaters, and thousands of residents remained cooped up in evacuation centers, officials said.