RESIDENTS in Batanes province were forced to evacuate on Wednesday (October 30) as Super Typhoon Leon continued to move closer to the nation still reeling from Tropical Storm Kristine that left at least 182 dead and missing and emergency shelters crammed with displaced people.
Batanes was placed under Storm Signal No. 4 by the state weather bureau where Signal No. 3 was raised over the eastern portion of Babuyan Islands and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its 2 p.m. bulletin.
While Leon was expected to blow off the northern Philippines, its extensive rain band with a width of more than 600 kilometers could lash the entire main northern region of Luzon, the country’s most populous, the government said.
Leon (international name: Kong-rey) was last tracked 350 kilometers east of northern Cagayan province, with sustained winds of up to 185 kph and gusting up to 230 kph. Forecasters said it could further strengthen at sea.
Pagasa administrator Nathaniel Servando said Leon would be closest to Batanes from late Wednesday evening to Thursday morning and said a landfall in the province was still possible.
It was blowing northwestward and was predicted to pass near Batanes before slamming into southeastern Taiwan on Thursday.
“We are still recovering from the two previous typhoons and storms, and here we go again,” Batanes Gov. Marilou Cayco said.
“We’re going around now to supervise the forced evacuation of people, especially those whose houses were severely damaged by the last storm,” Cayco said.
