MANILA — “Jenny” (international name: Koinu) is now a typhoon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Monday.
“Jenny” was located 675 kilometers (km) east of Aparri, Cagayan as of 3 a.m., packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph. It was moving northwestward at a speed of 10kph.
By late afternoon yesterday, it [the center of the typhoon’s eye] was expected to be 580 km east of Calayan, Cagayan, while today it will be 240 km east of Basco, Batanes, and 330 km east of Ibtayat, Batanes by Tuesday afternoon, said Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina.
He added that “Jenny” will unlikely hit the landmass of Batanes unless it moves southward.
“What we see on Thursday is that the eye of typhoon ‘Jenny’ will hit the southern part of Taiwan,” he continued.
Badrina said “Jenny” is expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility by Friday, Oct. 6.
Meanwhile, Pagasa maintained Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, the eastern portion of mainland Cagayan (Sta. Ana, Gonzaga, Buguey, Sta. Teresita, Lal-Lo, Baggao, Gattaran, Peñablanca), and the eastern portion of Isabela (Maconacon, Divilacan, and Palacan).
Seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands remain under gale warnings.
As for other parts of the country, Badrina said the southwest monsoon, locally known as habagat, will continue to bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan).
He also said that partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms will be experienced in Metro Manila and the rest of the country brought by the trough or extension of Jenny and localized thunderstorms.
Pagasa warned of possible flash floods or landslides in these areas during severe thunderstorms. (Luisa Cabato © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
