Wind Signal 4 up over Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan due to ‘Emong’

Metro Manila, Philippines - Destructive winds may hit parts of Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan as Typhoon Emong (international name: Co-may) barrels towards northwestern Luzon.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) placed the southwestern portion of Ilocos Sur, northwestern portion of La Union, and extreme northwestern portion of Pangasinan under Signal 4 - with winds reaching up to 184 kilometers per hour (kph).

According to the forecasting protocol, the warning lead time is 12 hours.

PAGASA also raised other storm alerts:

+ Signal 3

the rest of Ilocos Sur, the rest of La Union, northern and western portions of Pangasinan, southern portion of Abra, western portion of Mountain Province, and the western portion of Benguet

+ Signal 2

Ilocos Norte, rest of Pangasinan, rest of Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, rest of Mountain Province, Ifugao, rest of Benguet, Babuyan Islands, northern and western portions of mainland Cagayan, western portion of Nueva Vizcaya, northern portion of Zambales

+ Signal 1

Batanes, rest of Cagayan, western and central portions of Isabela, Quirino, rest of Nueva Vizcaya, rest of Zambales, Tarlac, northern portion of Pampanga, western and central portions of nueva Ecija

Rains

Emong will dump heavy to very heavy rainfall, or more than 200 millimeters, over Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, and Benguet. This volume can lead to significant flooding, landslides, and disruption of infrastructure.

PAGASA said up to the same substantial rainfall may be expected over Ilocos Norte, Abra, Mountain Province, and Ifugao, and half of that volume over Cagayan, Kalinga, Apayao, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Nueva Ecija.

The southwest monsoon or habagat, enhanced by Emong and Tropical Storm Dante, will also trigger significant rainfall over Bataan and Occidental Mindoro.

Other areas that could have heavy rain are Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas, Tarlac, and Laguna, or up to 100 to 200 millimeters.

The weather bureau said up to 100 millimeters of monsoon rains can be expected over Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Aurora, Quirino, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Marinduque, Romblon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Albay.

PAGASA said “Emong” may hit land in La Union or Ilocos Sur on Thursday night or Friday morning. It will cross northern Luzon’s mountainous terrain and emerge over the Babuyan Channel.

“Emong” was last seen over the coastal waters of Burgos, Pangasinan, with center winds of 120 kph and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dante, which enhanced the habagat, has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

A low pressure area outside the PAR has also developed into a tropical depression.