Typhoon Pedring slightly weakens, crosses NLuzon

Typhoon Pedring (international name: Nesat) slightly weakened as it crossed northern Luzon on Tuesday morning, the state weather bureau said. The weather disturbance was last spotted 100 kilometers east of Baguio City, packing maximum strong winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 150 kilometers, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather bulletin released at 11 a.m. Tuesday. "Si Pedring ay nag-interact sa terrain ng Sierra Madre kaya bahagya po itong humina," PAGASA weather division chief Robert Sawi said at a press briefing. The typhoon is moving west northwest at 19 kilometers and is expected to leave the country by Wednesday afternoon, he added. But PAGASA supervising officer Graciano Yumul said the storm is not expected to gain strength after making landfall. "Nasa ibabaw na po sya ng kalupaan. Wala na po syang source na enerhiya. Inaasahan lang pong lalakas siya ulit paglabas sa West Philippine Sea mamayang hapon," he said in an interview over GMA News TV’s “Balitanghali." Govt work, classes suspended Pedring earlier made landfall over the boundary of Aurora and Isabela provinces, toppling power lines and causing outages in Luzon. Earlier in the day, Malacañang ordered the suspension of work in government offices in Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon due to Typhoon Pedring. Likewise, the Commission on Higher Education announced that all classes in both undergraduate and graduate levels have been suspended in Metro Manila. As early as Monday evening, the Department of Education announced that all classes from elementary to high school in Metro Manila on Tuesday have been suspended. The Supreme Court also suspended work in Metro Manila courts. These include the trial courts, the Court of Appeals, the Court of Tax Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, and the Supreme Court itself. Strong winds, flooding in NCR In Metro Manila where storm signal no. 2 was hoisted, Pedring brought strong winds that toppled trees, power lines and even walls. In Valenzuela City, four people—including three children—were reported killed after a wall collapsed over a residential area. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos, however, said that the agency is still gathering confirmed casualty counts from its regional offices. Meanwhile, knee-deep floods were experienced along portions of Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City due to strong waves at the Manila Bay caused by Pedring. The flooding affected the United States Embassy building, which was forced to suspend work early Tuesday. Despite this, PAGASA said that only 121.4 millimeters of rainfall were recorded in Quezon City since Tuesday morning. This figure is not even half of the 341 millimeters dumped by Tropical Storm Ondoy over Metro Manila in 2009 during its first six hours. Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customer assistance coordinator Len Nazario, meanwhile, said that 44 percent of its service area, including portions of Makati and Manila, are currently experiencing power outages after some of the power lines were toppled by strong winds brought by Pedring. GMA News' Maki Pulido, meanwhile, reported that Marikina River already rose by 17 meters, prompting local officials to raise third alarm and evacuate residents near the body of water. Storm alerts PAGASA raised the following storm alerts in various provinces as of 11 a.m. Tuesday: Signal No.3 (100-185 kph winds)