A red rainfall warning has been raised in almost all provinces on the eastern side of Luzon amid Typhoon Uwan’s expected onslaught, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Pagasa’s update released at 5 a.m. of Sunday showed that that Catanduanes, Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Quezon province, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela were all under a red rainfall alert for the entire day.
A red rainfall alert, Pagasa said, indicates that an area may receive over 200 millimeters (mm) of rainfall in a day, which can lead to ‘serious flooding’ and and increased risk of landslides.
Metro Manila, Sorsogon, Masbate, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Marinduque, the rest of Calabarzon, the rest of Central Luzon, Pangasinan, Cagayan, and the entire Cordillera Administrative Region will be on an orange rainfall warning. This means these areas will have around 100 mm to 200 mm of rainfall.
‘We can see that for today, almost the entire Luzon would experience rains of up to 100 mm up to 200 mm, and even greater than 200 mm. This means that for areas easily flooded, low-lying areas, there is a big chance that you will experience flooding,’ Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina said.
‘Especially for those near rivers and creeks, because we expect that Typhoon Uwan would bring a lot of rain,’ he added.
A yellow rainfall alert, meanwhile, was raised over Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, Leyte, and the rest of Ilocos Region – La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte.
Areas under a yellow warning may get 50 mm to 100 mm worth of rainfall.
The scenario would then shift by Monday, as it would be the western side of Luzon that will be under a red rainfall warning – particularly Zambales, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Kalinga.
The rest of Central Luzon, the entire Cagayan Valley, along with Abra, Ilocos Norte, and Apayao will be under an orange alert. Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, and Marinduque will all be placed under a yellow warning during the same timeframe.
‘Meanwhile, we expect that for tomorrow, a big part of Luzon especially its western section will still experience rains from early Monday morning up to noon,’ Badrina said.
‘Again, please stay safe from potential and possible floods and landslides due to rain showers brought by Typhoon Uwan,’ he added.
Earlier, Pagasa said the span between Sunday morning to Monday morning will be the most crucial time for several areas in Luzon as Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) is expected to hit the eastern side and cross the landmass during this period.
Regarding the forecast track, Pagasa expects Uwan to make landfall over the Isabela-Aurora area by Sunday night. However, the state weather bureau maintained that they are not ruling out a landfall over Catanduanes, as Uwan may pass close to the northern part of the island province.
Uwan has been ‘rapidly intensifying’ while it moves closer to Bicol Region. It was was last seen 195 kilometers east of Catanduanes, and now has maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 215 kph.
It is still moving west northwest at a speed of 35 kph.
Due to Uwan’s rapid intensification and fast approach towards the country’s landmass, more areas have been placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4:
Polillo Islands
eastern and central portions of Camarines Norte (Mercedes, Daet, Talisay, Vinzons, Capalonga, Labo, Paracale, Jose Panganiban, San Vicente, San Lorenzo Ruiz, Basud)
eastern portion of Camarines Sur (Sagñay, Tigaon, Goa, Calabanga, Tinambac, Siruma, Lagonoy, Garchitorena, San Jose, Presentacion, Caramoan, Cabusao)
Catanduanes
eastern portion of Albay (Rapu-Rapu, Bacacay, City of Tabaco, Malilipot, Malinao, Tiwi)
The following areas are under Signal No. 3:
Luzon:
southern portion of mainland Cagayan (Tuao, Enrile, Solana, Tuguegarao City, Peñablanca, Iguig)
Isabela
Quirino
Nueva Vizcaya
Kalinga
southern portion of Abra (Malibcong, Daguioman, Manabo, Luba, Boliney, Sallapadan, Bucloc, Tubo, Villaviciosa, Licuan-Baay, Pilar, San Isidro, Bucay)
Mountain Province
Ifugao
Benguet
central and southern portions of Ilocos Sur (City of Candon, Gregorio del Pilar, San Esteban, Banayoyo, Cervantes, Burgos, Santa Lucia, Santiago, Lidlidda, Nagbukel, Suyo, Sigay, Galimuyod, Quirino, San Emilio, Alilem, Sugpon, Tagudin, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Narvacan, Salcedo)
La Union
Pangasinan
Zambales
Bataan
Tarlac
Pampanga
Nueva Ecija
Bulacan
Aurora
Metro Manila
Cavite
eastern portion of Batangas (Padre Garcia, Santo Tomas, Lipa City, City of Tanauan, Mataas Na Kahoy, Balete, San Juan, Rosario, Malvar, Talisay, San Nicolas, Laurel)
Laguna
Rizal
the rest of Quezon
the rest of Camarines Norte
the rest of Camarines Sur
the rest of Albay
Sorsogon
Ticao and Burias Islands
Visayas:
Northern Samar
northern portion of Eastern Samar (Jipapad, Arteche, San Policarpo, Oras, Dolores, Maslog)
northern portion of Samar (Calbayog City, Matuguinao, Gandara, Santa Margarita) /das