Rosita enters PAR, but spares Visayas

Landfall in North Luzon expected on Oct. 30, says Pagasa

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Sciences Administration (Pagasa) said Typhoon Rosita entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) Saturday morning Oct. 27, but it will not hit the Visayas.

Engineer Al Quiblat, Pagasa-Mactan chief, said the general direction of the tropical cyclone is Isabela, Cagayan in Northern Luzon where landfall is expected on Oct. 30.

Quiblat said that while there is a low chance for Central and Western Visayas to be hit, strong wind and heavy waves will be experienced by Eastern Visayas like Samar, which may prompt Pagasa to issue a gale warning.

Quiblat said Typhoon Rosita is the 18th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines for 2018 and second in October.

The Philippines is hit by more than 20 tropical cyclones a year. There will be one to two tropical cyclones to hit the country for November and one to two for December 2018.

“So, there are still two to four more tropical cyclones to come before the end of the year,” Quiblat said.

Cyclone is the general term or generic name for an intense low pressure area (typhoon), locally known as “bagyo” and “hurricane” in the United States.

On the other hand, a typhoon is one category of tropical cyclone.

There are five categories of tropical cyclones in the Philippines, namely tropical depression, tropical storm, severe tropical storm, typhoon, and super typhoon.

Quiblat said that even if a typhoon will hit a neighboring region and not Cebu, it will still bring heavy rains and strong wind that may cause floods and landslides. These are hazards associated with tropical cyclones, he said.