Super Typhoon barrels towards Philippines
MANILA: The state run weather bureau raised signal no.5, its highest cyclone warning over Polillo Islands and part of Quezon province in Southern Luzon due to the threat posed by super typhoon Karding (international name Noru).
Weatherman warned these areas are expected to experience Karding’s strongest means of more than 185 kilometers per hour in the next 12 hours.
Wide areas of Luzon were placed under signals 4, 3, 2, and 1.
This included Calabarzon (the acronym for a region in Southern Luzon like: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon). Also covered by signal no.3 are Metro Manila, and the Central Luzon provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan, and Aurora.
The super storm is projected to make landfall on Sunday evening, either in Aurora or in Pollilo Islands at 185 to 200 kilometers per hour.
Weathermen said Karding reached the super typhoon category at 5 am, Sunday, ater “a period of explosion intensification” of 90 kilometers per hour in 24 hours.
Authorities started the preemptive or forced evacuation of residents particularly along the coastal areas in the Bicol region, Southern and Central Luzon. One of the officials who gave the preemptive evacuation order was Governor Helen Tan of Quezon province.
“I asked our mayors to comply with the strict preemptive evacuation of all Quezon residents at risk due to floods, landslides, and rockslides,” Tan said. The same is true in other risk areas, according to Raffy Alejandro, the spokesman of the
National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC).
He also said that fishermen have been banned from going out to sea.
On the forecast track, Karding will likely make land fall in the vicinity of the Southern province of Quezon or in the Southern portion of Quezon, evening of Sept. 25.
The possibility of an earlier landfall (on Sunday a P aternoon) in the vicinity of Pollilo islands is not ruled out, according to weatherman.
Ater the landfall, Karding will cross Central
odLuzon and emerge at the West Philippine Sea with the coastal waters in Zambales and Pangasinan provinces.
The coast guard reported more than 2,500 people had been let stranded by ferry cancellations as vessels took shelter ahead of the storm.
Dozens of flights in and out of Manila were also cancelled.