'World's strongest' cyclone this year to slam into Visayas Friday dawn

MANILA, Philippines - Twelve areas were placed under public storm warning signal number 4 as Super Typhoon "Yolanda," which is now considered as the world's strongest tropical cyclone for 2013, is forecast to slam into Eastern Visayas before dawn Friday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 11 p.m. update that Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) has maintained its course and intensity as it continues to threaten Eastern Visayas.

As of 10 p.m., the eye of the typhoon was located at 290 kilometers east southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar with maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 260 kph.

The U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said Yolanda is the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year, the Associated Press reported. Cyclone Phailin, which hit eastern India on October 12, packed sustained winds of up to 222 kph (138 mph) and stronger gusts.

Yolanda is forecast to move west northwest at 39 kph and is expected to make an earlier landfall at around 5 a.m. over Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Several areas across the archipelago have been placed under storm warning signals due to size of the super typhoon.

Signal No. 4
Masbate
Northern Samar
Eastern Samar
Samar
Leyte
Southern Leyte
Biliran Province
Extreme Northern Cebu
Bantayan Island
Capiz
Aklan
Northern Antique

Signal No. 3
Ticao Island
Sorsogon
Romblon
Calamian Group of Islands
Rest of Antique
Iloilo
Guimaras
Northern Negros Occidental
Northern Negros Oriental
Bohol
Northern Cebu
Cebu City
Camotes Island
Siargao Island
Dinagat Province

Signal No. 2
Mindoro Provinces
Marinduque
Albay
Extreme Northern Palawan
Burias islands
Rest of Negros Occidental
Rest of Negros Oriental
Siquijor
Rest of Cebu
Camiguin
Surigao Del Norte
Surigao Del Sur
Agusan del Norte

Signal No. 1
Metro Manila
Bataan
Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur
Catanduanes
Southern Quezon
Laguna
Rizal
Cavite
Batangas
Lubang Island
Rest of Northern Palawan
Puerto Princesa
Misamis Oriental
Agusan del Sur

The state weather bureau said residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under the storm signals are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides.

Those living in coastal areas under signal nos. 4, 3 and 2 are alerted against storm surges which may reach up to a seven-meter wave height (23 feet).

Heavy to intense rainfall (10 to 30 millimeters) is expected within the 600-kilometer diameter of the typhoon, according to PAGASA.

President Benigno Aquino III warned Filipinos to leave high-risk areas and prepare for the possible onslaught of Yolanda.

"This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," Aquino said in a televised address on Thursday evening.

He assured the public of war-like preparations: three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," he said.

Governors and mayors supervised the evacuation of landslide- and flood-prone communities in several provinces where the typhoon is expected to pass, said Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

School classes and plane flights were canceled in many areas.

Aquino ordered officials to aim for zero casualties, a goal often not met in an archipelago lashed by about 20 tropical storms each year, most of them deadly and destructive.

Yolanda is the 24th storm to hit the Philippines this year and the strongest, according to meteorologists. -with Jim Gomez, Associated Press