Rai intensifies into severe tropical storm as it nears PAR –PAGASA

Eastern portions of Visayas and Mindanao may be placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 1 as early as Tuesday afternoon or evening as Rai intensifies into severe tropical storm while moving towards the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), PAGASA said.

"In terms of intensity, ngayon ay severe tropical storm category na ‘to and we are not ruling out the possibility na posible pa itong lumakas at ma-reach ‘yung typhoon category bago pa mag-landfall sa Caraga o Eastern Visayas by Thursday,” PAGASA senior weather specialist Chris Perez said at a press conference.

(Rai is now classified as a severe tropical storm, and we are not ruling out the possibility that it will intensify further and become a typhoon before making landfall in Eastern Visayas or Caraga on Thursday.)

He said that PAGASA may raise Signal Number 1 over Eastern Visayas and Mindanao on Tuesday afternoon or late Tuesday night. 

Perez also said Signal Number 3 could be hoisted as they anticipated that Rai would become a typhoon on Wednesday.

In a tropical cyclone advisory, the state weather bureau said the center of Severe Tropical Storm Rai was estimated at 1,165 km east of Mindanao as of 10 a.m.

It has maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 115 km/h.

Once the severe tropical storm enters PAR, possibly by Tuesday night, it will be named Odette and will officially be the 15th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year. 

According to PAGASA, it will begin moving westward over the Philippine Sea on Wednesday afternoon and may make landfall in the vicinity of Caraga or Eastern Visayas by Thursday afternoon or evening.

A pre-landfall peak intensity of around 155 km/h may be reached by Thursday morning or afternoon.

PAGASA said that in the next 24 hours, the trough of the storm will bring light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Caraga and Davao Oriental.

Heavy to torrential rainfall over Visayas, Mindanao, and several provinces in Southern Luzon, which may bring possible flooding and rain-induced landslides, may also be experienced due to the passage of the tropical cyclone over the central portion of the archipelago.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier in the day canceled land travels in Eastern Visayas due to the threat of severe tropical storm Rai.

Coastal inundation due to high waves near the coast and storm surge are also possible for low-lying localities near and along the path of the typhoon.

PAGASA warned that sea travel is risky for certain seacraft over these waters.

“‘Yung maalong karagatan, sa ngayon kahit wala pang bagyo, umiiral ang Amihan. That is why meron din tayong iniisue na gale warning,” Perez said.

(Even without a typhoon, some areas experience rough to high seas due to the Northeast Monsoon or Amihan, that is why we also issue a gale warning.)

The NDRRMC has already prepared P900 million worth of relief goods for those who may be affected by this storm.

Residents in the northern and eastern portions of Northern Luzon and the eastern portion of Central Luzon are also advised to monitor for updates regarding possible heavy rainfall which may occur in relation to the behavior of the shear line during and after the passage of this tropical cyclone.— AOL/VBL, GMA News