‘Surigae’ intensifies, hovers east of Mindanao — Pagasa

TROPICAL storm “Surigae” has slightly intensified as it is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.

Surigae which, as of posting time, has remained stationary, is estimated at 1,205 kilometers east of Mindanao. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 90kph.

In a virtual press briefing past 12noon, Pagasa Administrator Vicente Malano said it may intensify into a severe tropical storm in the next 24 hours and may reach typhoon category by Friday.

The domestic name “Bising” will be assigned to this tropical cyclone once inside the PAR, Malano said.

Based on the forecast track, Surigae is moving generally north-northwestward or northward while slightly slowing down starting this Wednesday until Thursday morning before turning west-northwestward and gradually accelerating, the state-run weather agency said.

Malano said it remains less likely to directly affect the country over the next three days but the public and disaster risk reduction and management offices, especially those situated over the eastern portions of Southern Luzon and Visayas were advised to continuously monitor for updates.

He said while Surigae was not expected to make landfall, its impact may be felt 500 kilometers east of Sorsogon by Sunday.

“Considering the uncertainty in the track forecast of this storm, a westward shift in the current forecast track may result in potentially significant impacts over the aforementioned areas over the weekend and until Monday,” the Pagasa administrator said.

The international name “Surigae” was contributed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) which means a kind of eagle, Pagasa said.