MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Hanna (Haikui) slightly intensified and accelerated on Saturday morning, September 2, while still enhancing the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Hanna’s maximum sustained winds increased from 120 kilometers per hour to 130 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in a bulletin issued at 11 am on Saturday.

The typhoon’s gustiness is now up to 160 km/h from the previous 150 km/h.

It was already 455 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, moving west northwest at 15 km/h from 10 km/h.

Hanna will not make landfall in the Philippines, but rain and winds from the typhoon are expected to affect Batanes. The province may see moderate to heavy rain on Sunday, September 3. It also remains under Signal No. 1 due to the threat of strong winds.

With Hanna moving slightly faster, it could make landfall along the east coast of southern Taiwan late Sunday. Taiwan is within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

“Considerable weakening is expected as a result of Hanna crossing the rugged landmass of Taiwan,” PAGASA said.

Afterwards, Hanna may exit PAR and emerge over the Taiwan Strait on Monday morning or afternoon, September 4.

Outside PAR, it could “move erratically and may even become slow-moving or almost stationary over the Taiwan Strait while continuously weakening due to land interaction and [an] increasingly unfavorable environment.”

Hanna could eventually just be a tropical depression by Wednesday, September 6, or Thursday, September 7.

Meanwhile, Hanna, as well as Typhoon Goring (Saola) and Tropical Storm Kirogi outside PAR, will continue enhancing the southwest monsoon. Goring had left PAR last Wednesday evening, August 30, while Kirogi is heading for Japan.

PAGASA updated its rainfall forecast for the enhanced southwest monsoon as of 11 am on Saturday. Floods and landslides remain expected.

Saturday, September 2

• 100-200 millimeters (mm): Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro
• 50-100 mm: Metro Manila, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas

Sunday, September 3

• 100-200 mm: Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro
• 50-100 mm: Metro Manila, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas

Monday, September 4

• 100-200 mm: Zambales, Bataan
• 50-100 mm: Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, northern part of Palawan including Cuyo and Calamian islands, Antique

Gusty conditions will also persist in these areas due to the enhanced southwest monsoon:

Saturday, September 2, to Sunday, September 3

• Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Nueva Vizcaya, Zambales, Pampanga, Bataan, Aurora, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, northern part of Eastern Visayas

Monday, September 4

• Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Nueva Vizcaya, Zambales, Pampanga, Bataan, Aurora, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, most of Mimaropa, most of Bicol, most of Western Visayas

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For coastal waters, the gale warning issued at 5 am on Saturday remains in effect, still due to Hanna and the enhanced southwest monsoon. Rough to very rough seas are expected in the following seaboards:

• western seaboard of Luzon (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Island) – waves 2.8 to 5 meters high
• northern seaboard of Northern Luzon and western seaboard of Southern Luzon (Batanes, northern coast of Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas) – waves 2.8 to 5 meters high
• eastern and southern seaboards of Luzon (eastern coast of Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, northern Quezon, southern Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high
• western and eastern seaboards of Visayas (Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, Northern Samar) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high

The weather bureau advised fishing boats and other small vessels not to sail, and larger vessels to watch out for big waves.

Hanna is the Philippines’ eighth tropical cyclone for 2023.

For the next 6 months, PAGASA estimated that 6 to 9 tropical cyclones may form within or enter PAR:

• September 2023 – 2 or 3
• October 2023 – 2 or 3
• November 2023 – 1 or 2
• December 2023 – 1 or 2
• January 2024 – 0 or 1
• February 2024 – 0 or 1

– Rappler.com