People wade through a flooded street in Dagupan City of Pangasinan on July 30, 2023.- AFP
MANILA (Bloomberg): Storm Khanun developed into a typhoon, flooding parts of the Philippines and its capital city amid forecasts from the weather office for it to strength further.
As a result, heavy rains, floods and landslides are expected in the mountainous areas of the country, Pagasa said in its advisory at 5am local time. Khanun, which intensified and became a typhoon Sunday (July 30) night, "may reach its peak intensity” Tuesday or on Wednesday.
While Khanun is on a northward path over the Philippine Sea and appears to be heading away from landmass, heavy rainfall is expected as the storm and super typhoon Doksuri, which hit the country earlier, boost the Southwest Monsoon, the weather bureau said. This will bring monsoon showers over the western parts of Luzon and the Visayas, it said.
The water level of the capital Manila region’s Marikina River reached 16.1 metres (52.8 feet) Saturday evening, nearing the 18 meter level that triggers a forced evacuation of certain parts of Marikina City, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports Sunday, citing the local government.
The Philippines is affected by an average of 20 tropical cyclones a year, making it one of the world’s worst-hit countries, according to Pagasa.
Doksuri, which struck last week, destroyed more than 1.3 billion pesos worth of agricultural crops and caused an estimated 2.66 billion pesos of damage to infrastructure. The super typhoon affected half a million people mostly in the northern parts of main Luzon Island and left 14 dead, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Khanun is moving at 15km (about 9 miles) an hour with maximum sustained winds of 150km an hour near the centre and gusts of up to 185 km an hour, Pagasa said.
Khanun may exit the Philippines between Tuesday morning and afternoon before turning northwestward and passing close to Japan’s Okinawa Islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago between tomorrow evening and Wednesday morning while gradually decelerating.
