‘Egay’ to touch down in Cagayan

TROPICAL Storm “Egay” intensified as it moved closer to northern Luzon yesterday.

As of 4 p.m. on Saturday, Egay (international name Linfa) was 160 kilometers northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, packing peak winds of 95 kilometers per hour with gustiness of up to 120 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in a weather bulletin.

Egay is expected to make landfall this morning at the northern tip of Cagayan and leave the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday afternoon, weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said.

The storm slowed down, moving northwest at nine kilometers per hour, the weather bureau added.

Metro Manila and other parts of the country will experience rain and thunderstorms as Egay will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon, Aurelio said in a press briefing.

Storm warning signal No. 2 was raised in Kalinga, Apayao, Isabela, Quirino, northern Aurora, Cagayan, and the Babuyan and Calayan groups of islands.

The rest of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ilocos Sur, Abra and Ilocos Norte were placed under signal No. 1.

“Due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Egay, Metro Manila, Bicol, Calabarzon and Mimaropa will have cloudy skies with moderate to occasional heavy rains which may trigger flash floods and landslides,” Aurelio said.

Another tropical storm is expected to enter the PAR on Wednesday or Thursday.

Tropical Storm “Chan-Hom,” which will be named “Falcon,” will enter through the upper-right corner of the PAR, Aurelio said.

But it will not “make landfall and no area will be affected because it is far,” he said.

Meanwhile, six Cebu Pacific flights were canceled on Saturday due to inclement weather.

In an advisory, the Manila International Airport Authority said the Manila to Busuanga and Manila to Tuguegarao flights and back were canceled “due to the monsoon rains brought by Tropical Storm Egay.”

The flights canceled were 5J 529, 5J 530, 5J 504, 5J 505, 5J 506 and 5J 507.

Cebu Pacific said it had “arranged additional flights to reaccommodate the affected passengers.”