Typhoon Lawin has gained new muscle, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to raise tropical cyclone signal number 1 in four provinces on Tue morning, Oct 18.
At 5am, Lawin was packing top sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, and gusts of up to 230 kph, PAGASA meteorologist Meno Mendoza told dzMM.
The typhoon was last spotted 1,075 km East of Daet, Camarines Norte.
Cagayan, Isabela, Catanduanes and Northern Aurora have been placed under signal number 1. Winds of 30 to 60 kph will whip these areas in 36 hours.
Moderate to heavy rains were seen within the typhoon’s 700-kilometer diameter, Mendoza said.
This means that Lawin may dump more than a foot of rain as it moves through northern Luzon, according to US broadcaster The Weather Channel.
Mendoza warned that Lawin may further intensify into a super typhoon with maximum wind speed exceeding 220 kph or more than 120 knots.
US-based The Weather Channel said the typhoon may reach its peak strength on Tue, Oct 18, before flogging Luzon from late Wed, Oct 19, to Thu, Oct 20.
Mendoza added that Lawin is likely to make landfall over Cagayan on Thursday morning, and then cross to Apayao and Ilocos Norte.
The typhoon may trigger storm surges, floods, and landslides. It will also be especially damaging to Luzon areas that were inundated by Typhoon Karen over the weekend, the Weather Channel said.
Mendoza said if Lawin continues moving west northwest at 24 kph, it may leave the Philippine area of responsibility by Fri morning, Oct 21, and head to eastern China.
The Philippines is hit with about 20 tropical storms each year. The deadliest and strongest on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, destroyed entire towns in the central islands in November 2013, leaving more than 7,350 people dead or missing.
This story first appeared on ABS-CBN News Online and is republished with permission.
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