Project NOAH: 'Domeng' to bring storm surge in 134 areas

MANILA, Philippines - The government's Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) warned the public that approaching Tropical Cyclone "Domeng" will spawn storm surges in 134 areas in the Visayas.

The project came up with a list of localities that will have storm surge and tide with a combined height of up to two meters or higher.

The list is a model run with 4,884 stations from specified localities with storm surge plus tide values. Updates to the simulation runs are made every six hours.

The predicted storm surge and tide are expected to peak at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

In November 2013, the powerful winds of Super Typhoon "Yolanda" generated storm surges (seawater pushed inland) that flattened communities.

In a phone-patch interview on ANC, the executive director of Project NOAH said Domeng's storm surge will not be as powerful as Yolanda's. However, he urged citizens to still stay away from coastal areas, though there is no cause for panic.

"This is nothing compared to Yolanda," Dr. Mahar Lagmay said. "But nonetheless, people should exercise caution."

According to state weather bureau PAGASA, Domeng is expected to make landfall over the Surigao provinces on Thursday morning and then cross northeastern Mindanao and southern part of Cebu and Negros Provinces. It will be over the Sulu Sea by Friday.

Moderate to heavy rainfall (5 to 15 millimeters per hour) is expected within the 400-kilometer diameter of the tropical storm, which may directly affect Southern Cebu, Bohol, Negros, and Coron in northern Palawan.

Here is the complete list of the areas expected to be hit by the Domeng's storm surge, according to the Project NOAH: