Typhoon Ambo heading for northern Quezon, Laguna

Acor Arceo

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Typhoon Ambo heading for northern Quezon, Laguna
Typhoon Ambo (Vongfong) hits the southern part of Quezon on Friday morning, May 15. The next areas in its path are the northern part of Quezon and the neighboring province of Laguna.

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MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Ambo (Vongfong) continued to batter the Bondoc Peninsula in the southern part of Quezon province late Friday morning, May 15, “bringing destructive winds and heavy to intense rainfall,” according to the state weather bureau.

In an online briefing past 11 am on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Ambo is now in the vicinity of Catanauan, Quezon. The municipality of Catanauan is within the Bondoc Peninsula.

The typhoon is still moving northwest, but at a slightly faster 20 kilometers per hour (km/h) from the previous 15 km/h. The next areas in its path are the northern part of Quezon and the neighboring province of Laguna.

So far, Ambo has made landfall in the country 6 times:

Thursday, May 14

  • San Policarpo, Eastern Samar – 12:15 pm
  • Dalupiri Island, Northern Samar – 10:15 pm
  • Capul Island, Northern Samar – 10:30 pm

Friday, May 15

  • Ticao Island, Masbate – 12 am
  • Burias Island, Masbate – 3 am
  • San Andres, Quezon – 7:45 am

Ambo continues to have maximum winds of 125 km/h and gustiness of up to 165 km/h, though it is expected to gradually weaken as it moves over land. Its previous highs were maximum winds of 155 km/h and gustiness of up to 255 km/h on Thursday. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

The entire Quezon and Laguna are now under Signal No. 3, among several others, while many remain under Signal Nos. 1 and 2 – all in Luzon. There are no more areas in the Visayas under tropical cyclone wind signals. Check the newest list below. (READ: Why is it now called tropical cyclone ‘wind’ – and not ‘warning’ – signals?)

Signal No. 3 (winds of 121 to 170 km/h, or strong to destructive typhoon-force winds during the passage of the typhoon)

  • Quezon including Polillo Island
  • Rizal
  • Laguna
  • southern part of Aurora (Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, Baler, San Luis, Dingalan)
  • southern part of Nueva Ecija (Licab, Quezon, Santo Domingo, Talavera, Llanera, Rizal, Bongabon, General Mamerto Natividad, Aliaga, Zaragoza, San Antonio, Jaen, Santa Rosa, Cabanatuan, Palayan, Laur, Gabaldon, Peñaranda, San Leonardo, Cabiao, San Isidro, Gapan, General Tinio)
  • eastern part of Bulacan (San Miguel, San Ildefonso, Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Rafael, Angat, Norzagaray, San Jose del Monte)
  • western part of Camarines Norte (Santa Elena, Capalonga, Jose Panganiban, Paracale, Labo)
  • extreme western part of Camarines Sur (Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot, Libmanan, Cabusao, Pasacao, Pamplona)
  • Marinduque

Signal No. 2 (winds of 61 to 120 km/h, or strong to damaging gale-/storm-force winds during the passage of the typhoon)

  • Metro Manila
  • Cavite
  • Batangas
  • Pampanga
  • Tarlac
  • La Union
  • Benguet
  • Nueva Vizcaya
  • Quirino
  • rest of Aurora
  • rest of Camarines Norte
  • rest of Nueva Ecija
  • rest of Bulacan
  • Burias Island
  • eastern part of Pangasinan (San Nicolas, Natividad, San Quintin, Umingan, Balungao, Sta Maria, Tayug, Asingan, San Manuel, Binalonan, Laoac, Urdaneta, Villasis, Rosales, Sto Tomas, Alcala, Bautista, Bayambang, Urbiztondo, Basista, Malasiqui, Sta Barbara, Manaoag, Mapandan, San Jacinto, San Fabian, Pozorrubio, Sison, Mangaldan, Dagupan, Calasiao, Binmaley, Lingayen, Bugallon, Aguilar, San Carlos, Mangatarem)
  • western part of Camarines Sur (Siruma, Tinambac, Calabanga, Bombon, Naga, Magarao, Canaman, Camaligan, Gainza, Milaor, San Fernando, Minalabac, Pili)

Signal No. 1 (winds of 30 to 60 km/h, or strong to near-gale-force winds during the passage of the typhoon)

  • Cagayan including Babuyan Islands
  • Isabela
  • Ilocos Norte
  • Ilocos Sur
  • rest of Pangasinan
  • Apayao
  • Kalinga
  • Abra
  • Mountain Province
  • Ifugao
  • Zambales
  • Bataan
  • Oriental Mindoro
  • Romblon
  • Catanduanes
  • Albay
  • Sorsogon
  • rest of Camarines Sur
  • northern part of mainland Masbate (Aroroy, Mandaon, Balud, Milagros, Baleno, Masbate City, Mobo)
  • Ticao Island

PAGASA maintained this rainfall outlook for Ambo:

Friday, May 15

Moderate to heavy rain, with at times intense rain

  • Bicol
  • Quezon
  • Aurora
  • Marinduque
  • Laguna
  • Rizal
  • Metro Manila
  • Bulacan
  • Nueva Ecija
  • Nueva Vizcaya
  • Quirino

Saturday, May 16

Moderate to heavy rain, with at times intense rain

  • Cagayan Valley
  • Cordillera Administrative Region
  • Aurora
  • Nueva Ecija

PAGASA Senior Weather Specialist Chris Perez said in the briefing that Ambo’s center could be closest to Metro Manila between 8 pm and 10 pm on Friday, an estimated 50 kilometers away by then.

Areas in the typhoon’s path could experience floods and landslides. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology also warned on Wednesday, May 13, that the rainfall from Ambo might mix with volcanic deposits from Mayon Volcano’s 2018 eruption, which could result in lahar or volcanic mudflows in Albay.

PAGASA no longer warned of possible storm surges in its 11 am briefing, but sea travel remains risky for all vessels in the seaboards of areas under tropical cyclone wind signals.

Ambo is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday, May 18. By then, it is likely to have weakened already into a tropical depression.

Forecast track of Typhoon Ambo (Vongfong) as of May 15, 2020, 11 am. Image from PAGASA

Ambo is the Philippines’ first tropical cyclone for 2020. The country gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones per year. (READ: LIST: PAGASA’s names for tropical cyclones in 2020)

In PAGASA’s climate outlook, it gave the following estimates for the number of tropical cyclones in the next 6 months:

  • May – 1 or 2
  • June – 1 or 2
  • July – 2 to 4
  • August – 2 or 3
  • September – 2 or 3
  • October – 2 or 3

Ambo’s arrival comes as the Philippines faces the coronavirus outbreak, with 11,876 cases as of Thursday. (READ: Social distancing ‘per family’ at Typhoon Ambo evacuation centers– Rappler.com

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Acor Arceo

Acor Arceo is the head of copy and editorial standards at Rappler. Trained in both online and TV newsrooms, Acor ensures consistency in editorial standards across all sections and also supervises Rappler’s coverage of disasters.