Northern Luzon continues to experience strong winds and heavy rainfall as Super Typhoon Leon (international name Kong-rey) moves close to Batanes, PAGASA reported early Thursday.
As of 5 a.m., PAGASA warned of potential flooding and landslides in Batanes and the Babuyan Group of Islands due to the heavy rains. Local disaster response units in Batanes reported strong winds and heavy downpour in Uyugan, Sabtang, and Mahatao.
Leon, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kph and gusts of up to 240 kph, was located 100 km east-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes.
The following advisories are in effect:
⚡️Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 5: Northern and eastern Batanes, including Itbayat and Basco, with typhoon-force winds.
⚡️TCWS No. 4: Remaining areas in Batanes, expecting typhoon-force winds.
⚡️TCWS No. 3: Northern Babuyan Islands, including Babuyan and Calayan, with storm-force winds.
⚡️TCWS No. 2: Remainder of Babuyan Islands, Cagayan mainland, parts of northern Isabela, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte, experiencing gale-force winds.
⚡️TCWS No. 1: Extended over parts of Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Aurora.
The typhoon will also bring gale-force winds across most of the Cordillera, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, and parts of Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
PAGASA noted a high risk of storm surges exceeding 3 meters along coastal areas of Batanes and the Babuyan Islands over the next 48 hours. Sea travel is hazardous along Northern Luzon’s coast and Central Luzon’s eastern seaboard.
Typhoon Leon is expected to weaken into a typhoon within 12 hours, with a reduced likelihood of landfall over Batanes.
