Emong strengthens as it moves away

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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – Tropical storm Emong (international codename Leepi) has intensified overnight Wednesday, June 19, but is still moving away from the country, state weather bureau PAGASA said.

Emong was spotted 400 km east of Basco, Batanes (21.3°N, 126.2°E) as of 10 am Wednesday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h near the center and gusts of up to 90 km/h.

It also has sped up a bit, moving north at a speed of 19 km/h, the bureau said in its 24-hour forecast released early Wednesday.

Despite being far from any land mass, Emong continues to enhance the Southwest Monsoon, bringing rain to parts of Luzon and Visyas.

The bureau warned of strong to gale force winds along the eastern seaboards of Luzon, and the western coasts of Central and South Luzon.

Wave heights in these areas are expected to be 3.4 to 4.5 meters, with winds between 52-63 km/h.

Small sea vessels and fishing boats are cautioned against going out to sea, while large vessels should watch out for big waves.

The entire Luzon is expected to have cloudy skies with moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms, and residents are warned to watch out for possible flash floods and landslides.

The Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain, while the rest of Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains.

The next update on tropical storm Emong will be released 11 am Wednesday.

City	Forecast		Temperature Range
Metro Manila		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-32°C
Tuguegarao		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-35°C
Laoag		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-32°C
Baguio		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	16°C-23°C
Subic/Olongapo; Clark/Angeles		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-31°C
Tagaytay		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	22°C-29°C
Legazpi		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-33°C
Puerto Princesa		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-31°C
Iloilo/Bacolod		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-30°C
Metro Cebu		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	26°C-32°C
Tacloban		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-32°C
Cagayan de Oro		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	23°C-32°C
Metro Davao		Partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-33°C
Zamboanga		Cloudy with rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-34°C

– Rappler.com