'Igme' gains strength

Manila, Philippines -  Tropical storm “Igme” (international name Tembin) intensified into a typhoon yesterday even as two new weather disturbances may enter the Philippine area of responsibility within the week, US and local weather monitoring agencies said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) maintained storm warning signal number 1 over Isabela and Cagayan as of 5 p.m. yesterday, meaning winds of 45 to 60 kilometers per hour are expected within the next 36 hours.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the center of Igme was located at 310 km east of Aparri, Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kph.

The typhoon was moving north slowly, PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. severe weather bulletin.

Igme is expected to bring five to 15 millimeters per hour of rain (moderate to heavy) within its 550-km radius.

Igme is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon which will bring light to moderate rains over Luzon, particularly the western section, including Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan and Mindoro.

PAGASA said sea travel along the eastern seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon is risky.

“Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out into the eastern seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon due to big waves generated by Igme and the southwest monsoon,” it said.

Metro Manila will experience cloudy skies with rains and thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon or evening.

Igme is expected to be at 310 km east of Aparri this afternoon; 245 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes tomorrow afternoon; and 285 km north northwest of Basco by Thursday afternoon.

New tropical cyclone

Meanwhile, a new tropical cyclone is likely to enter the Philippines by Wednesday or Thursday this week, PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said.

“By Wednesday or Thursday it will enter Philippine area of responsibility and it will be named ‘Julian.’ Julian will not affect any part of the country as it will move towards Japan,” Servando told The STAR.

Servando said Igme was moving slowly due to its interaction with a high-pressure area.

PAGASA weather division chief Robert Sawi said the new weather disturbance was spotted at 2,200 km east of Northern Luzon.

The Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), for its part, spotted two weather disturbances that have a “medium to high chance” of intensifying into a storm. The weather disturbances were given the codename WP97 and WP98.

According to the JTWC, WP97 has a high chance of becoming a storm in the next 24 hours, while WP98 has a medium chance.

Red alert

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has been placed on red alert due to Igme.

A red alert places all disaster management personnel on standby to ensure enough manpower in the event of an emergency.

A total of 1,453 families in the Ilocos region have been affected by Igme.

The Office of Civil Defense-Ilocos reported that 163 persons were brought to evacuation centers last Sunday.

Three towns in La Union namely Naguilian, Bacnotan and Burgos experienced flashfloods.

Eight roads in the Ilocos region were damaged due to the storm.

They are the San Fernando-Bagulin road, the San Juan-San Gabriel road, San Fernando bypass road, the Agoo-Baguio City road, Bauang-Baguio City road, Narvacan-Sulvec Port road, the Kabayan-Buguias-Abatan road and Abra-Kalinga road.

The San Fernando-Bagulin road is not passable to all types of vehicles while the Kabayan-Buguias-Abatan and Abra-Kalinga roads are closed due to landslide.

The Air Force Tactical Operations Group 1, the Philippine Military Academy Disaster Response Task Group, and the Army’s 503rd, 501st and 502nd Brigades have been placed on alert for possible rescue operations.

But in most parts of Region 2, including Isabela and Cagayan, sunny weather prevailed yesterday despite scattered rainshowers as the areas were placed under public storm warning signal 1.

Water released

The San Roque Dam in San Manuel, Pangasinan, started releasing water last Sunday following heavy downpour brought by Igme.

Tom Valdez, vice president for corporate social responsibility of the San Roque Power Corp., said the initial release was at 75 cubic meters per second (cms).

As of 6 p.m. last Sunday, water level at the San Roque Dam was at 281.14 meters above sea level (masl). Two hours later, with continuous rain, water level reached 281.25 masl.

The dam started to release water when the level reached 281.34 masl. – With Alexis Romero, Eva Visperas, Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca