Local News

Ofel now a typhoon, as Pepito enters PAR on Thursday

AS FORECASTED by the state weather bureau PAGASA, Ofel has been upgraded to a typhoon and is now 475 kilometers east northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, earlier this morning (Wednesday).

Shortly after Typhoon Nika devastated various portions of northern Luzon, Typhoon Ofel is hitting the same area again, with heavier rainfall forecast until it approaches the country.

Moving westward at 25 km/h, Ofel’s maximum sustained winds are at 120 km/h near the center, with gusts reaching 150 km/h.

A stronger typhoon

PAGASA warned locals of Northern Luzon to prepare and brace for a stronger typhoon, which is likely to reach peak intensity and make landfall over Cagayan or Isabela by Thursday afternoon.

The weather bureau also expects that Ofel would bring heavy rain, strong gusts, and a storm surge to Northern Luzon’s coastal areas, causing substantial damage, flooding, and landslides.

“It’s looking like it will follow the track of Nika,” civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing of Cagayan province told AFP. “We preemptively evacuated 40,000 people that time, so we could be looking at the same scenario and evacuate 40,000 individuals again.”

According to Rapsing, the flood level in the Cagayan River, the country’s largest, was four meters above normal, prohibiting more than 5,000 residents who had been evacuated from returning home.

Meanwhile, low-lying or exposed coastal areas such as Batanes, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, Isabela, and northern Aurora are predicted to experience moderate to high levels of life-threatening storm surge over the next 48 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 is currently in effect in Cagayan, northern and central regions of Isabela, Apayao, eastern portion of Kalinga, easternmost portion of Mountain Province, and easternmost portion of Ifugao.

Pepito on Thursday

While Ofel is still approaching, another tropical storm is predicted to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). It will arrive on Thursday evening, known internationally as Man-yi and locally as Pepito.

Man-yi was located 2,210 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas, with maximum winds of 75 km/h and gusts of up to 90. While heading over the Philippine Sea, it may rapidly turn into a super typhoon.

It is expected to make landfall in Northern or Central Luzon on Sunday, November 17, bringing heavy rain, strong gusts, and storm surge.

If Pepito enters the PAR, it will be the fifth typhoon to continuously hit Northern Luzon, following Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Typhoon Marce, Super Typhoon Leon, and Typhoon Nika.