Kristine now over Ilocos Sur waters, 4 areas under Signal No. 3

Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) continued to move away from the Philippine landmass, with four areas in Luzon still under Signal No. 3, PAGASA said in its 2 p.m. Thursday bulletin.

Signal No. 3 was raised over Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan.

Winds of greater than 89 km/h up to 117 km/h may be expected in these areas in the next 18 hours.

Signal No. 2 was hoisted over the following areas:

• Batanes
• Cagayan including Babuyan Islands
• Isabela
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Apayao
• Kalinga
• Abra
• Ifugao
• Mountain Province
• Aurora
• Nueva Ecija
• Tarlac
• Zambales
• Bataan
• Pampanga
• Bulacan
• Metro Manila
• Rizal
• Cavite
• the western portion of Batangas (Nasugbu, Lian)
• the northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta) including Polillo Islands
• Lubang Island

These areas may experience winds greater than 62 km/h and up to 88 km/h in the next 24 hours.

Under Signal No. 1, where winds of 39-61 km/h or intermittent rains may be expected in the next 36 hours, are the following areas:

• Laguna
• the rest of Batangas
• rest of Quezon
• the rest of Occidental Mindoro
• Oriental Mindoro
• Marinduque
• Romblon
• the northern portion of mainland Palawan (El Nido, Taytay, Araceli, San Vicente, Dumaran, Roxas) including Calamian Islands
• Cuyo
• Kalayaan Islands
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes
• Albay
• Sorsogon
• Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands
• Aklan
• Capiz
• Antique including Caluya Islands
• Iloilo
• Bantayan Islands
• Northern Samar
• the northern portion of Samar (Santa Margarita, Almagro, Tagapul-An, Calbayog City, Santo Nino, Gandara, Matuguinao)

PAGASA warned of minimal to moderate risk of storm surge with peak heights of around 1.0 to 2.0 m above normal tide levels in the next 48 hours over the low-lying or coastal localities of Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, and Zambales.

At 1 p.m., Kristine was located over the coastal waters of Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur with maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 145 km/h, moving west southwestward at 15 km/h.

It will then move westward or west northwestward over the West Philippine Sea and exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Friday afternoon.  

'Looping'

''In the extended outlook, there is a developing forecast situation wherein Kristine will be looping over the West Philippine Sea on Sunday and Monday and move eastward or east northwestward towards the general direction of the PAR region,'' PAGASA said.

''However, this scenario heavily depends on the behavior of the weather disturbance east of the PAR region which is expected to develop into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours.''

“Kristine is forecast to re-intensify as it moves over the West Philippine Sea. While it is likely that the tropical cyclone will remain a severe tropical storm in the next five days, the chance for it to be upgraded into a typhoon is not ruled out,” PAGASA said.

Deaths

Philippine rescuers raced Thursday to reach residents still stranded by flooding in the hard-hit Bicol region, after torrential rains from Kristine submerged villages and killed more than 20 people.

Schools and government offices were shuttered across the northern Philippines as the storm made landfall on the country's main island of Luzon after first paving a trail of destruction south of the capital.

"As of 7 a.m., we have 20 dead (throughout the Bicol region)," regional police chief Brigadier General Andre Dizon told reporters Thursday, adding the figure had yet to be finalized. 

"Most of them from drowning or buried in landslides."

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Dizon said seven of the fatalities were reported in Naga, five in Catanduanes, four in Albay, and one each in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and Masbate — all in the Bicol Region.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed 908 police personnel in Bicol to provide assistance to the victims of the inclement weather.— Mariel Celine Serquiña/with a report from Agence France-Presse/VBL, GMA Integrated News