Just want to start this thread for everyone to be updated regarding the current weather conditions. I find it timely since may bagyo (Glenda) ngayon. This would be useful as well para malaman natin ang weather condition on different parts of the Philippines.
BTW, Here is the latest update from PAGASA:
Typhoon Glenda/ Rammasun, with sustained winds of 150 kph and gusts up to 185 kph, made landfall over the eastern province of Sorsogon, in the Bicol region on Tuesday evening.
At 11:00 PM the state weather service PAGASA raised Storm Signal Number 3 for Metro Manila, with Typhoon Glenda located 65 km southeast of Alabat, in Quezon Province. The storm continues to move west toward Manila at a rate of 19 kph.
Schools and government offices not directly involved with disaster operations will be closed on Wednesday. Residents are advised to remain indoors.
The eye of the storm is expected to be over the capital before noon (0400 GMT) on Wednesday. It will be the first typhoon to hit the capital directly in about four years and the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines since Yolanda/ Haiyan devastated the Visayas in November 2013.
On Tuesday evening, Tropical Storm Risk upgraded the storm to a category-three typhoon, on a scale of one to five of which five is the most severe. Glenda is expected to bring rainfall of up to 20 mm per hour within its 500-km radius.
PAGASA says Glenda is expected to bring storm surges of up to three meters in coastal villages. Storm surges are also likely in Manila Bay. As of 10:00 PM Tuesday night, there was intermittent light to moderate rainfall in Metro Manila.
President Benigno S Aquino III said the armed forces are on full alert in order to assist with disaster relief efforts. The president said the objective is to minimize casualties and hardship.
Officials say over 60,000 families were evacuated from their homes in Albay province and elsewhere in the Bicol region. Some 6,000 ferry passengers are reportedly stranded in ports after the coastguard suspended ocean travel.
Electricity was down in many parts of Bicol, including Albay and Camarines provinces, and was completely cut off in Catanduanes and Sorsogon, according to officials. Thousands of residents in Legazpi City and Naga took shelter in evacuation centers.
While there have not been any reports of deaths or injuries, Albay and Camarines Sur provinces have declared a state of calamity. Officials say this will allow funds to be available for relief efforts.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) says almost 80,000 family food packs and relief supplies are being prepared at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City and in DSWD field Offices in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and National Capital Region (NCR).
To repeat: Public Storm Signal Warning Number 3 is in effect for Metro Manila.
PAGASA has issued storm warnings for at least 35 areas in Luzon, the Visayas and a number of regions:
Signal No. 3 (101 -185 kph) Metro Manila, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Quezon including Polillo Island and Alabat Island, Marinduque, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Burias and Ticao Islands, Cavite, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga,Tarlac, and Zambales.
Signal No. 2 (61-100 kph) Southern Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Romblon, Masbate,
the northern parts of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro, including Lubang Island,
and Northern Samar.
Signal No. 1 (30-60 kph) the rest of Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, La Union, the rest of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro, Biliran, northern Cebu including Cebu City, Camotes Islands, Bantayan Island, northern part of Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Samar.
PAGASA continues to warn residents in high risk areas about flash floods, landslides, and storm surges. Flooding can also be expected within Metro Manila, especially near Manila Bay, the Pasig River and Laguna de Bay.
In an advisory, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced that more than 50 local and international flights have been cancelled due to the typhoon. Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced that a number of its inbound flights from South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong were grounded.
PAL, Cebu Pacific Air and TigerAir cancelled a number of domestic flights between Manila and Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Caticlan, Naga, Legaspi due to bad weather. Clients planning to travel should confirm their itineraries with their carriers.
A gale warning remains in effect along the eastern seaboard with strong to gale force winds and wave heights of up to three meters off the eastern coasts of Luzon and the Visayas.
Forecasters say the typhoon will continue west toward Zambales and may head out into the South China Sea as early as Wednesday night. Clients are advised to monitor weather bulletins issued by PAGASA.