Typhoon Butchoy slows down further as it heads for Taiwan

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MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Butchoy (Nepartak) maintained its strength on Thursday morning, July 7, but slowed down further as it approached Taiwan.

Butchoy still has maximum winds of 220 kilometers per hour (km/h) and gustiness of up to 255 km/h.

While other meteorological organizations already classify it as a super typhoon, PAGASA guidelines say a tropical cyclone must have winds exceeding 220 km/h for it to be classified by the Philippine weather bureau as a super typhoon.

As of 10 am, Butchoy was 235 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, moving west northwest at a slower 20 km/h.

Signal number 2 is now raised over Batanes, while Calayan and the Babuyan Group of Islands remain under signal number 1.

PAGASA said there would be moderate to heavy rains within the typhoon’s 650-km diameter.

The state weather bureau also reminded fishermen not to set sail in the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon.

Butchoy is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday, July 8.

Though the typhoon did not make landfall in the Philippines, it is enhancing the southwest monsoon, which is affecting Southern Luzon and the Visayas.

Earlier, the state weather bureau warned it would be a rainy weekend in parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, because of the southwest monsoon.

PAGASA also said floods and landslides are possible in Mindoro, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, and Benguet this weekend.

On Thursday, expect light to moderate rains in Metro Manila, the rest of Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Visayas, Caraga, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Northern Mindanao.

The rest of the country will have isolated rains or thunderstorms.

– Rappler.com