Batanes under Signal No. 1 as Typhoon Gorio nears
MANILA, Philippines — State weather bureau PAGASA has raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over Batanes as Typhoon Gorio (international name: Podul) moves westward over the Philippine Sea.
In its midday bulletin Tuesday, August 12, PAGASA said the typhoon’s center was located 560 kilometers east of Itbayat, Batanes.
Gorio is packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 150 kph, moving west at 25 kph.
Signal No. 1 warns of strong winds of 39 to 61 kph, posing minimal to minor threats to life and property in Batanes over the next 36 hours.
PAGASA said winds may be slightly stronger in coastal and mountainous areas.
The highest signal expected for Batanes is Signal No. 2, but a southward shift in the typhoon’s track could expand the warning area.
The typhoon is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon, or habagat, bringing strong to gale-force gusts to:
- The Babuyan Islands
- Northern parts of mainland Cagayan
- Ilocos Norte
Sea travel risk. Sea travel is risky for all types of vessels along the seaboards of Batanes.
Small sea craft are advised not to sail in the northern and eastern seaboards of the Babuyan Islands due to rough seas.
Forecast track. Gorio is forecast to move west-northwest and make landfall over eastern Taiwan on the afternoon of August 13 before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday evening.
PAGASA expects the typhoon to slightly intensify before landfall in Taiwan, then begin to weaken.
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