Aghon accelerates as it moves away from Luzon

Typhoon Aghon has accelerated away from Luzon as it maintained its strength on Tuesday, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, PAGASA said Aghon, which was moving northeastward at 20 kilometers per hour, was located 450 kilometers east southeast of Basco, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 160 km/h.

It is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday afternoon or evening, and is unlikely to directly bring rains to the country, PAGASA said.

However, the southwesterly windflow will bring moderate to heavy rains over Western Visayas and the western portion of Central and Southern Luzon in the next three days.

Due to Aghon, moderate to rough seas of up to 4.0 meters are expected over the coastal waters of eastern Cagayan, Isabela, northern Aurora and the northern coastal waters of Polillo Islands, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes. 

Mariners of motorbancas and similarly-sized vessels were warned against navigating in these conditions if inexperienced and operating ill-equipped seacraft.

“Aghon will likely maintain its strength until tomorrow although a short period of intensification may be possible in the next 12 hours,” PAGASA said.

“Aghon will start entering a period of weakening tomorrow  afternoon as it begins to interact with the mid-latitude environment and undergo post-tropical transition. However, an earlier weakening trend is not ruled out,” it added.

Six people were reported dead after the onslaught of Aghon, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) spokesperson Edgar Posadas said on Tuesday.

According to Posadas, only one of the fatalities has been confirmed while the five others are still being verified. 

“Yung isa pong naitalang namatay sa Region 10 ay kinumpirma na po nila at naireport na po ito sa atin. Ito po ay isang 14-year-old na female. At siya po ay from Misamis Oriental at ito ay due to multiple physical injury po dahil po nabagsakan siya ng collapsed na puno,” said Posadas in an interview on Unang Balita. 

(The one recorded death in Region 10 has already been confirmed and reported to us. This is a 14-year-old female. And she is from Misamis Oriental and this is due to multiple physical injuries because she was hit by a collapsed tree.)

“Pero meron pa rin po tayong kinukumpirma na lima na biniberipika pa natin para kapag ma-confirm po, we will also report to you,” he added. 

(But we still have five reported deaths to confirm, so when it is confirmed, we will also report it.)

Eight people were also reported injured in Bicol and Northern Mindanao, according to the latest report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The affected population was 36,143 and most of them were reported in CALABARZON with 19,180 and Bicol with 10,349.

Lucena City in Quezon has been placed under a state of calamity due to Aghon's impact, according to Posadas. Two Quezon districts may also declare a state of calamity soon, the NDRRMC said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News