Typhoon Rosita a few hours away from landfall in Isabela

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Satellite image of Typhoon Rosita (Yutu) as of October 30, 2018, 1:30 am. Image from NOAA

MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Rosita (Yutu) is just a few hours away from making landfall in the southern part of Isabela, as it maintained its strength in the early hours of Tuesday, October 30.

In a bulletin issued 2 am on Tuesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Rosita is already 130 kilometers east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora. It is still moving west at 20 kilometers per hour (km/h).

The typhoon continues to have maximum winds of 150 km/h and gustiness of up to 185 km/h. It has a diameter of 600 kilometers.

Below are the areas under tropical cyclone warning signals.

Signal No. 3:

• Isabela
• Quirino
• northern part of Aurora
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Ifugao
• Benguet
• La Union
• Ilocos Sur
• Mountain Province
• Pangasinan

Signal No. 2:

• Cagayan
• Ilocos Norte
• Apayao
• Abra
• Kalinga
• Tarlac
• Nueva Ecija
• northern part of Quezon including Polillo Island
• southern part of Aurora
• Zambales
• Pampanga
• Bulacan

Signal No. 1:

• southern part of Quezon
• Batanes
• Babuyan Group of Islands
• Rizal
• Metro Manila
• Laguna
• Batangas
• Bataan
• Cavite
• Camarines Norte

Rosita is projected to make landfall in the southern part of Isabela between 5 am and 7 am on Tuesday.

After making landfall, the typhoon is expected to cross Aurora, Isabela, Quirino, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, and La Union. It might exit landmass on Tuesday afternoon.

Moderate to heavy rain and strong to very strong winds already began hitting Northern Luzon and Central Luzon on Monday evening, October 29. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

PAGASA warned that flash floods and landslides are possible in areas in the typhoon’s path. There might also be storm surges up to 3 meters high in coastal areas of Isabela, Cagayan, Aurora, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, and Pangasinan.

Residents of some coastal areas and landslide-prone areas preemptively evacuated ahead of Rosita’s landfall. (READ: Cagayan braces for Typhoon Rosita a month after Ompong)

Sea travel is risky in the seaboards of areas under tropical cyclone warning signals, in the eastern and western seaboards of Southern Luzon, and in the eastern seaboards of the Visayas and Mindanao.

A gale warning was issued at 5 pm on Monday for the western coast of northern Palawan, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, the eastern coast of Sorsogon, the eastern coast of Albay, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Surigao, Dinagat Islands, Siargao, and Davao Oriental.

Seas off those areas are rough to very rough, with wave heights reaching 2.6 meters to 5.5 meters.

PAGASA advised fishermen and others with small vessels not to set sail in areas covered by the gale warning. Larger vessels should watch out for big waves.

Meanwhile, classes have been suspended in various areas due to Rosita. (READ: #WalangPasok: Class suspensions, Tuesday, October 30)

Based on the typhoon’s latest forecast track, it will leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday evening, October 31.

Forecast track of Typhoon Rosita (Yutu) as of October 30, 2018, 2 am. Image from PAGASA

Rosita is the Philippines’ 18th tropical cyclone for 2018. The country usually gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones per year. (READ: LIST: PAGASA’s names for tropical cyclones in 2018)

PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season last June 8. – Rappler.com