Cagayan, Isabela under storm Signal No. 1 as 'Quiel' nears

Tropical cyclone "Quiel" intensified into a typhoon and as of 5 a.m. Friday, state weather forecasters raised Storm Signal No. 1 over the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, as well as the Babuyan Group of Islands. Typhoon "Quiel" comes closer while many parts of Luzon are still submerged in floodwaters in the aftermath of the previous cyclone, "Pedring" and several dams release excess water. Residents in low lying and mountainous areas were alerted against new flashfloods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas were warned of big waves or storm surges the typhoon may generate. Quiel (Nalgae) is expected to enhance the Southwest Monsoon and will bring scattered to widespread rains over southern Luzon and the Western Visayas.
At 4 a.m. Friday, Quiel was located at 770 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kilometers per hour (kph). It is forecast to move west at 22 kph. PAGASA said the Eastern Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rains over Eastern Mindanao. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Estimated rainfall volume from Quiel is 15 - 25 mm per hour within its 400 km. diameter.

PAGASA has raised Storm Signal No. 1 over the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, and the Babuyan Islands to prepare them for Typhoon "Quiel". PAGASA

Moderate to occasionally strong winds blowing from the northeast to northwest will prevail over Northern and Central Luzon. Luzon’s coastal waters are expected to be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the northwest and west with slight to moderate seas. — MRT/ELR, GMA News