Severe Tropical Storm Hanna, locally known as Haikui, continues to move west northwestward over the Philippine Sea, posing a threat to the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan in the next two days.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Hanna was located at 870 km east of extreme northern Luzon as of 4:00 AM today, with maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h and gustiness of up to 135 km/h.
Hanna is expected to intensify into a typhoon today and reach its peak intensity tomorrow before making landfall or passing close to the northern portion of Taiwan. It will then weaken rapidly as it crosses the Taiwan Strait and hits mainland China on Sunday afternoon or evening.
Hanna is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Sunday morning. However, it will still enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat, which is also being influenced by Super Typhoon Saola (Goring) and Severe Tropical Storm Kirogi.
The enhanced habagat will bring occasional to monsoon rains over the western portion of Luzon in the next three days, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to flooding and rain-induced landslides.
The habagat will also cause gusty conditions over most seaboards of Luzon and Western Visayas, and the seaboard of Northern Samar. A gale warning is in effect for these areas, which means sea travel is risky due to rough seas.
PAGASA advised residents in these areas to take precautionary measures against possible flash floods and landslides, and coordinate with their local disaster risk reduction and management offices.
PAGASA also urged the public to monitor weather updates and bulletins issued by the agency. The next tropical cyclone bulletin for Hanna will be issued at 11:00 AM today.
