Philippine authorities on Saturday accelerated plans to evacuate the population and cancel flights as Super Typhoon Mawar approaches the coast of the archipelago, where it was christened Betty.
In the latest bulletin, at 11:00 a.m. (04:00 a.m. Lisbon time), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that the center of the typhoon was 1,170 kilometers east of the center of Luzon, with sustained winds up to 195 kilometers per hour.
Super typhoon Mawar “entered the monitoring area of the Philippines and was named after Betty,” PAGASA added, adding that rains and strong winds were expected in the north of the largest and most populous island of Luzon, and where lies the capital, Manila, lies.
Betty “continues to strengthen as it moves west-northwest,” the Philippine news agency said.
“While it is likely to maintain strength for the next 36-48 hours, short-term intensification is not ruled out, especially over the next 12-24 hours,” it said.
Among the areas that could be affected by Betty are, on the island of Luzon, the provinces of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sul, as well as the Batanes archipelago, in the extreme north of the Philippines, although the period of greatest accumulation of Rainfall is expected between Monday morning and Tuesday morning.
After that, “Betty could start to weaken considerably” and become a typhoon, the weather service added.
“Meanwhile, the Philippine authorities have accelerated plans to evacuate people from areas expected to be hardest hit and are seeking public cooperation to mitigate the potential effects of Betty,” it said.
In Cagayan, in the north of the country, where three days of strong winds and rain are expected, the authorities are urging the inhabitants of more solid houses to welcome people in worse conditions, in a campaign called “adopt a neighbor”, reported the Philippine station ABS-CBN.
The churches will house the population evacuated from their homes, while Cagayan has identified 11 coastal areas where flooding, landslides and severe storms could occur, ABS-CBN reported.
The Philippine airline has already announced that it has canceled around a dozen domestic flights in the coming days due to Betty’s arrival.
This is the second tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2023 and the first super typhoon, and the archipelago is expecting up to ten this year, due to the “El Niño” phenomenon, which warms the Pacific waters and causes the formation of more cyclones. .
On Wednesday night, the storm struck the island of Guam, an unincorporated US territory in Micronesia, where it left a trail of destruction, though no fatalities or serious injuries were reported.
Source: TSF
