PAGASA: ‘Super Typhoon Maria’ online posts are false

There is no truth to online posts claiming that a super typhoon named Maria will soon hit the Philippines, the country’s weather bureau clarified on Sunday evening, July 25.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a statement that it is only monitoring two tropical cyclones at the moment, which are both outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

One is Typhoon In-fa, known in the Philippines as Fabian, which left PAR last Friday, July 23. It was already 1,025 kilometers north of extreme Northern Luzon on Sunday afternoon.

The other is Tropical Storm Nepartak, which was last spotted 2,840 kilometers east northeast of extreme Northern Luzon. It is heading north and unlikely to enter PAR.

PAGASA said no tropical cyclone is expected to enter PAR or affect Philippine landmass within the next three to five days.

The state weather bureau added that it seeks to “prevent unwanted panic on the part of the public” since the posts containing false information are being shared on “various social networking services.”

“The public is advised to undertake precautionary measures, continue monitoring for updates, and remain vigilant against unofficial information coming from unverified sources,” PAGASA said.

Aside from its website, PAGASA has official Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.

“Maria” is also not included in any of the four sets of Philippine tropical cyclone names on rotation. The names starting with letter M currently listed are Maring (2021), Maymay (2022), Marilyn (2023), and Marce (2024). Each name repeats every four years unless dropped due to extensive loss of lives or property.

In 2018, there was a tropical cyclone with the international name Maria. It entered PAR as a typhoon and was given the local name Gardo, but it did not make landfall in the Philippines. – Rappler.com