Storm Urduja makes landfall over Eastern Samar

Tropical Storm Urduja (international name Kai-tak) made landfall in Eastern Samar early Saturday afternoon, state weather bureau PAGASA said.

A PAGASA weather forecaster told Super Radyo dzBB that Urduja made landfall in San Policarpio town in Eastern Samar at about 1:30 p.m.

The cyclone was packing maximum sustained winds of 80 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 110 kph.

It is forecast to move west at 15 kph, thrice as fast as its 5-kph speed for most of Friday.

Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 2 is hoisted over:

• Albay
• Sorsogon
• Masbate including Burias and Ticao Islands
• Romblon
• Northern Samar
• Eastern Samar
• Samar
• Biliran
• Leyte
• Aklan
• Capiz
• northen part of Iloilo

Signal No. 1, meanwhile, is up in:

• southern part of Quezon
• Mindoro
• Marinduque
• Catanduanes
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Cuyo Islands and Calamian Group of Islands
• Antique
• the rest of Iloilo
• Guimaras
• Negros Occidental
• northern part of Negros Oriental
• Cebu
• northern Bohol
• Southern Leyte
• Dinagat Islands

Bicol and the Visayas are expected to experience scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains, which is also expected to prevail over southern Quezon, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Mindoro Provinces, Marinduque and Romblon.

PAGASA advised residents in areas with cyclone warning signals to "undertake appropriate measures" against flooding and landslides.

Sea travel is risky over the seaboards in areas under cyclone warning signals. Wave heights at open sea in these areas can reach as much as 14 meters.

Urduja is exit the the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday morning next week.

At least three people have been reported dead while 35,000 families or nearly 160,000 people have been affected by the cyclone in Eastern Visayas and Caraga region. —LBG/ALG, GMA News