Toraji makes landfall in Aurora

By Adrian H. Halili and Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporters

TORAJI, locally named Nika, has intensified into a typhoon as it made landfall over Dilasag, Aurora province early Monday, according to the Philippines’ weather bureau.

“Regardless of the position of the center in the next several hours, it must be emphasized that hazards on land and coastal waters may still be experienced in areas outside the forecast confidence cone,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a 5 p.m. bulletin.

Toraji was last spotted near Besao, Mountain Province and was moving west-northeastward at 25 kilometers per hour (kph). It was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 200 kph.

It was set to traverse mainland Luzon and emerge over the sea west of Ilocos Sur province.

PAGASA raised tropical wind signal No. 4 over Kalinga, Mountain Province, the northern portion of Ifugao, the central and southern portion of Abra and the northern a central portions of Ilocos Sur

Signal No. 3 was hoisted over the northern portion of Quirino, the northeastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya, the central portion of Isabela, the southwestern portion of Cagayan, the southern portion of Apayao, the rest of Abra, the rest of Ifugao, the northern portion of Benguet, the southern portion of Ilocos Norte and the rest of Ilocos Sur.

The northwestern and eastern portions of Cagayan, the rest of Isabela, the rest of Nueva Vizcaya, the rest of Quirino, the rest of Apayao, the rest of Benguet, the rest of Ilocos Norte, La Union, the northeastern portion of Pangasinan, the northern and central parts of Aurora and the northern portion of Nueva Ecija were under Signal No. 2.

Signal No. 1 was hoisted over the Babuyan Islands, the rest of mainland Cagayan, the rest of Pangasinan, the rest of Aurora, the rest of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, the northern and central portions of Zambales and the northeastern part of Quezon including Polillo Islands.

The weather bureau said it was monitoring a tropical depression outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

PAGASA said the tropical depression closest to the Philippines was last seen 780 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar and was moving west-northwestward at 20 kph as of 2 p.m. Once in the Philippines, it will be named Ofel.

It had maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center, with gustiness of up to 70 kph.

The tropical depression is forecast to move toward the eastern side of the Visayas and Luzon and enter the Philippines by Nov. 12.

PAGASA was also monitoring Tropical Storm Man-Yi, which was located 3,385 km east of Southeastern Luzon and was moving south-southwestward at 10 kph, as of 2 p.m. Once the storm enters the Philippines, it will be named Pepito.

Man-Yi had maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near the center with gustiness reaching up to 105 kph.

Meanwhile, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Wednesday said its workers were ready to respond to electricity service concerns that may arise amid Typhoon Toraji.

“Meralco’s crews and personnel are on standby 24/7, ready to respond to any possible electricity service concern as we continue to monitor the movements of the typhoon,” Meralco Vice-President and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said in a statement.

The power distributor said it was monitoring the weather situation as parts of its franchise area have been placed under Signal No. 1.

Mr. Zaldarriaga called on the public to observe electrical safety measures, especially when there is flooding.

All communication channels should be open and ready, and communication devices such as mobile phones, laptops and radios should be charged.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said in an advisory at 1 p.m. that four 69-kilovolt transmission lines in Luzon had been unavailable.

Customers served by Isabela I Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Quirino Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Ifugao Electric Cooperative, Inc. have been affected, NGCP said.

“Inspection and restoration of lines in the affected area will be in full swing as soon as the weather allows,” the grid operator said.

The NGCP noted that the update pertained only to the status of the transmission network. “Localized disturbances may be better addressed by your distribution utility. This also does not include lines exclusively serving directly connected industrial customers.”