Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 26) – Typhoon Egay weakened further while crossing over the waters of Luzon Strait, the state weather bureau said in its 11 p.m. bulletin.
The center of the typhoon was last spotted 120 kilometers west northwest of Calayan, Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center – down from 165 kph.
Signal No. 4 has already been lifted, but the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned there is still a high risk of storm surges in the low-lying and exposed coastal areas of Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, and portions of Isabela and Ilocos Sur.
READ: Ilocos Norte under state of calamity due to ‘Egay’
Signal No. 3, meanwhile, remains hoisted over the northwestern portion of Ilocos Norte – particularly the areas of Bangui, Pagudpud, Burgos, and Pasuquin.
Areas under Signal No. 2 are Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Kalinga, Abra, the rest of Ilocos Norte, Apayao, northern and central portions of Ilocos Sur, western portion of Mountain Province, and Batanes.
Signal No. 1 is up over Isabela, rest of Mountain Province, Ifugao, Zambales, Pangasinan, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, the rest of Ilocos Sur, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, northern portion of Bataan, and northern portion of Bulacan.
The weather bureau said the enhanced southwest monsoon will continue to bring occasional monsoon rains over the western portions of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and the Visayas in the next three days.
Egay made two landfalls over Cagayan Wednesday morning. The first was at 3:10 a.m. in the vicinity of Fuga Island in Aparri and the second at 9:30 a.m. over Dalupiri Island.
PAGASA said the typhoon is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Thursday. It is forecast to cross the Taiwan Strait and make landfall in the vicinity of Fujian, China on Friday morning.
The latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed that devastating winds and heavy rains brought by the typhoon affected over 180,000 people.
