Heavy rains still possible as Pepito moves away from Luzon ABS-CBN News
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RAMMB/US NOAA/Himawari 8
Typhoon Pepito will continue to stir heavy rains in parts of Luzon as it moves away from the country on Monday, PAGASA said.
After sweeping across Luzon this weekend, Pepito was spotted over the West Philippine Sea, about 145 kilometers west of Sinait, Ilocos Sur at 4 a.m. It was packing winds of 130 kilometers per hour and up to 160 kph gusts, the state weather bureau said.
The typhoon may leave the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday morning or noon, PAGASA said.
But it added that moderate to heavy rains could still spawn floods and landslides in Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Zambales, Cagayan, Aurora, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Batanes, and Isabela.
PAGASA kept the following wind signals raised.
Signal 3
89 to 117 kph winds expected in at least 18 hours; Moderate to significant threat to life and property
Northern and western portions of Ilocos Sur (Gregorio del Pilar, Magsingal, San Esteban, Banayoyo, Burgos, City of Candon, Santa Lucia, Santiago, San Vicente, Santa Catalina, Lidlidda, Nagbukel, Sinait, Suyo, Sigay, San Ildefonso, Galimuyod, City of Vigan, San Emilio, Cabugao, Caoayan, San Juan, Santa, Bantay, Santo Domingo, Tagudin, Santa Cruz, Santa Maria, Narvacan, Salcedo), northwestern portion of La Union (Luna, Bangar, Balaoan, Bacnotan), and western portion of Abra (San Quintin, Langiden, Pidigan, Pilar)
Signal 2
62 to 88 kph winds expected in at least 24 hours;Minor to moderate threat to life and property
Ilocos Norte, the rest of Ilocos Sur, the rest of La Union, Pangasinan, the rest of Abra, the western portion of Mountain Province (Besao, Tadian, Sagada, Bauko), Benguet, and the northern portion of Zambales (Santa Cruz, Candelaria)
Signal 1
39 to 61 kph winds expected in at least 24 hours; Minimal to minor threat to life and property
Apayao, Kalinga, the rest of Mountain Province, Ifugao, the western portion of Cagayan (Lasam, Santo Niño, Solana, Enrile, Tuao, Piat, Rizal, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Abulug, Pamplona, Claveria, Santa Praxedes, Sanchez-Mira), Nueva Vizcaya, the northern and central portions of Nueva Ecija (Bongabon, San Leonardo, Cabanatuan City, Santa Rosa, Jaen, Cuyapo, Talavera, Santo Domingo, Rizal, Zaragoza, Llanera, Guimba, Aliaga, Pantabangan, Science City of Muñoz, General Mamerto Natividad, Carranglan, Quezon, San Jose City, Lupao, Nampicuan, Talugtug, Licab, San Antonio, Palayan City, Laur), Tarlac, and the central portion of Zambales (Botolan, Iba, Cabangan, Palauig, Masinloc)
Pepito on Sunday was still a super typhoon when it made its second landfall in Aurora province, but was downgraded to a typhoon category as it traversed the mountainous island.
"I saw roofing sheets flying off the houses around our building. Branches were being torn off trees," said Julius Fabianes, a rescuer with the Aurora disaster agency in Baler town.
Some 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Pepito, including several thousand in Metro Manila, as the weather forecaster warned of a "life-threatening" impact from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather.
On Saturday, Pepito uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after making its first landfall on the lightly populated Catanduanes island in the typhoon-prone Bicol region.
No deaths have been reported, but there was "extensive" damage to structures on Catanduanes, civil defense chief Ariel Nepomuceno said.
Panganiban municipality in the northeast of Catanduanes took a direct hit fromPepito.
Photos and a drone video shared on the Facebook page of Mayor Cesar Robles showed fallen power lines, damaged and destroyed buildings, and trees and corrugated iron sheets strewn on the roads.
"Pepito was so strong, I have never experienced a typhoon this strong," Robles said in a post, as clean-up efforts got underway and people returned home.
Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.
Mother-of-three Marissa Cueva Alejandro, 36, who grew up in Catanduanes and sheltered with a relative during Man-yi, said typhoons are getting stronger.
"Before, we would only experience (typhoon) signal number three to four, but now typhoons are getting as strong as signal number five," she said, referring to the weather service's five-tiered wind warning system.
Pepito was the sixth storm in the past month to batter the archipelago nation. At least 163 people died in the previous storms, which left thousands homeless and wiped out crops and livestock.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.
Pepito hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season -- most cyclones develop between July and October.
This month, four storms were clustered simultaneously in the Pacific basin, which the Japan Meteorological Agency told AFP was the first time such an occurrence had been observed in November since its records began in 1951.
