PCG on alert for entry of ‘Basyang’

All Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) units in Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Palawan have been placed under heightened alert in anticipation of the entry late yesterday of a tropical depression that was to be named “Basyang.”

Rear Admiral Elson Hermogino, Coast Guard Commandant, ordered the agency’s districts and stations in Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Palawan “to brace for the possible effects of the typhoon in maritime activities.”

Coast Guard units in the affected areas were likewise reminded to prevent inter-island vessels from sailing.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the tropical depression was expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) late yesterday.

Before Sunday noon, the tropical cyclone was estimated at 1,200 kilometers (km) east of Mindanao, still outside the PAR.

It was moving west-northwest at 27 kilometers per hour (kph). Once it enters the PAR, the tropical depression was to be named “Basyang,” the second cyclone to affect the country this year.

The cyclone, packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph and gustiness of up to 65 kph, was not expected to have a direct effect yet in any part of the country.

Should it maintain its speed and track, the cyclone would make landfall over Visayas or Mindanao early this week.

“Maritime operations along the eastern seaboards of Visayas and of Mindanao may be disrupted once tropical cyclone warning signal is raised tonight (Sunday, Feb. 11),” PAGASA said.

By this morning, PAGASA said the tropical depression is expected at 550 km east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, and by Tuesday morning, it will be in the vicinity of Butuan City.