Karding now a typhoon; areas of Camarines Norte, Pollillo Island under Signal 3

Areas of Camarines Norte and the Pollillo Islands were under Signal No. 3 as Tropical Cyclone Karding rapidly intensified into a typhoon, weather bureau PAGASA reported on Saturday evening.

In its 8 p.m. bulletin on Saturday, PAGASA said Typhoon Karding was 490 kms east of Baler, Aurora (15.4°N, 126.2°E).

Karding had sustained maximum winds of 120 km/h near the center, gustiness of up to 150 km/h, and central pressure of 980 hPa.

PAGASA said the typhoon was moving southwestward at 20 km/h.

Signal No. 3 was raised over the following areas:

• Northern portion of Camarines Norte (Vinzons); and
• the eastern portion of Polillo Islands (Kalongkooan Is., Kalotkot Is., Patnanungan Is., and Jomalig Is.).

Meanwhile, the following areas were under Signal No. 2:

• The southern portion of Isabela (Dinapigue, San Guillermo, Jones, San Agustin, Echague, San Mariano),
• Quirino,
• The central and southeastern portions of Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castaneda, Dupax del Sur, Aritao, Santa Fe, Bambang, Dupax del Norte, Kasibu, Quezon, Bayombong, Diadi),
• Aurora,
• Nueva Ecija,
• The eastern portion of Tarlac (Concepcion, La Paz, Victoria, Pura, Ramos, Anao, San Manuel, Moncada, Paniqui, Gerona, City of Tarlac),
• Bulacan,
• The eastern portion of Pampanga (Apalit, San Simon, San Luis, Candaba, Santa Ana, Arayat, Magalang),
• Metro Manila,
• The northern and central portions of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta, Real, Mauban, Calauag, Perez, Alabat, Quezon, Tagkawayan, Guinayangan, Sampaloc, Lucban, City of Tayabas, Lucena City, Pagbilao, Padre Burgos, Atimonan, Agdangan, Unisan, Plaridel, Gumaca, Lopez, Pitogo) including the rest of Polillo Islands,
• The northern and central portions of Laguna (Santa Maria, Siniloan, Famy, Mabitac, Pakil, Pangil, Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban, Cavinti, Santa Cruz, Pagsanjan, Magdalena, Luisiana, Majayjay, Liliw, Pila, Victoria, Nagcarlan, Bay, Los Baños, City of Calamba, City of Santa Rosa, City of Biñan, City of San Pedro, Cabuyao City, Rizal, Calauan),
• The northeastern portion of Cavite (Bacoor City, Kawit, Imus City, City of Dasmariñas, Carmona, Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Cavite City),
• Rizal, the eastern portion of Pangasinan (Umingan, Bautista, Alcala, Rosales, Balungao, Santa Maria, San Quintin, Natividad, Tayug, Asingan, San Nicolas, San Manuel, Santo Tomas, Bayambang, Malasiqui, Villasis, City of Urdaneta, Binalonan, Laoac, Sison, Pozorrubio),
• The northern portion of Camarines Sur (Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot, Siruma, Lagonoy, Garchitorena, Caramoan, Tinambac, Presentacion, San Jose, Goa, Cabusao, Libmanan, Calabanga, Bombon, Magarao),
• The northern and central portions of Catanduanes (Caramoran, Pandan, Bagamanoc, Panganiban, Viga, San Miguel, Baras, Gigmoto, San Andres),
• and the rest of Camarines Norte

Under Signal No. 1 are:

• The southern portion of Cagayan (Peñablanca, Iguig, Tuguegarao City, Enrile, Solana, Tuao, Piat, Amulung, Rizal),
• The rest of Isabela,
• The rest of Nueva Vizcaya, the southern portion of Apayao (Conner),
• Abra,
• Kalinga,
• Mountain Province,
• Ifugao,
• Benguet,
• southern Ilocos Norte (Nueva Era, Badoc, Pinili, Banna, City of Batac, Currimao, Paoay, Marcos),
• Ilocos Sur,
• La Union,
• the rest of Pangasinan,
• the rest of Tarlac,
• he rest of Pampanga,
• Zambales,
• Bataan,
• the rest of Laguna,
• the rest of Quezon,
• the rest of Cavite, Batangas,
• the rest of Camarines Sur, Albay,
• the rest of Catanduanes,
• Marinduque,
• the northwestern portion of Occidental Mindoro (Lubang Islands, Paluan, Abra de Ilog),
• and the northewestern portion of Oriental Mindoro (San Teodoro, Puerto Galera, City of Calapan, Baco).

PAGASA said light to moderate with, at times, heavy rain would prevail over the Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, the northern portion of Aurora, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur on Saturday night until Sunday early morning.

On Sunday through to early Monday morning, heavy to intense with, at times, torrential rains would be experienced over the northern portion of Quezon, including the Polillo Islands, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, and north Zambales.

Meanwhile, heavy to intense rains would be experienced over the rest of Central Luzon. Moderate to heavy rains could meanwhile be expected over Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Provinces, La Union, Metro Manila, and the rest of Calabarzon.

Scattered flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard.

PAGASA said occasional rains were also possible beginning on Saturday or Sunday over most of Southern Luzon and the Visayas, especially over their western sections due to the Southwest Monsoon, partly influenced by Karding.

The weather bureau said a Gale Warning remained in effect over the eastern seaboards of Luzon.

In the next 24 hours, PAGASA said a preceding northeasterlies and the approaching typhoon may bring moderate to rough seas (1.5 to 3.5 m) over the northern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon.

“These conditions may be risky for those using small seacrafts. Mariners are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea and, if possible, avoid navigating in these conditions,” the weather bureau said.

Karding is forecast to track generally west southwestward or westward before turning west northwestward towards the east coast of southern portion of Aurora or northern portion of Quezon, where it is likely to make landfall on Sunday afternoon or early evening, PAGASA said.

“While it is likely for this tropical cyclone to slightly weaken due to land interaction during its traverse over Central Luzon, it is highly likely that Karding will remain a typhoon while crossing the landmass,” it added. — DVM, GMA News