MANILA, Philippines – Pepito (Man-yi) strengthened from a severe tropical storm into a typhoon while undergoing rapid intensification on Friday morning, November 15.
Pepito now has maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour from 110 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in a press conference before noontime on Friday. Its gustiness is now up to 160 km/h from 135 km/h.
Pepito will continue to undergo rapid intensification until Saturday, November 16, and could strengthen into a super typhoon before making landfall. Under PAGASA’s classification, a super typhoon has maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h or above.
As of 10 am on Friday, Pepito was located 630 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. The typhoon slightly accelerated, moving west at 30 km/h from the previous 25 km/h.
PAGASA already raised Signal No. 2 for parts of Eastern Visayas at 11 am, which means these areas have lead time of 24 hours to prepare for gale-force winds. Below are the areas under tropical cyclone wind signals.
Gale-force winds (62 to 88 km/h), minor to moderate threat to life and property
Strong winds (39 to 61 km/h), minimal to minor threat to life and property
The highest possible tropical cyclone wind signal due to Pepito is Signal No. 5.
Aside from winds, significant rain from Pepito is also expected to begin on Saturday. Areas listed below in PAGASA’s updated outlook must watch out for floods and landslides.
Saturday noon, November 16, to Sunday noon, November 17
Sunday noon, November 17, to Monday noon, November 18
In addition, there is a moderate to high risk of “life-threatening” storm surges “with peak heights reaching 3 meters above normal tide levels” in southeastern Quezon, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, northern Masbate including Burias Island and Ticao Island, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, and northern Biliran within 48 hours.
PAGASA said Pepito is projected to move generally west northwest in the next five days.
It is now “more likely” to make landfall in Catanduanes on Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, November 17. But considering the cone of probability, the weather bureau is not ruling out landfall in Camarines Sur, Albay, or Sorsogon also on Saturday evening or early Sunday morning; in Northern Samar on Saturday afternoon or evening; and in Quezon or Aurora on Sunday afternoon or evening.
“Regardless of the landfall point,” Pepito is likely to pass over or near the landmass of Bicol, Quezon, Central Luzon provinces, and Pangasinan during the weekend, before emerging over the West Philippine Sea on Sunday evening or Monday morning, November 18.
All areas which will be placed under rainfall and wind warnings should prepare for the typhoon, not just areas listed as possible landfall sites.
In terms of intensity, PAGASA said Pepito may slightly weaken “after its initial passage over land,” followed by further weakening on Sunday when it crosses the landmass of Central Luzon. But the weather bureau emphasized that Pepito will still cross land as a typhoon, which means it will still be a serious threat.
Pepito “may only be downgraded into a severe tropical storm once it is over the West Philippine Sea” on Monday.
Pepito is the Philippines’ 16th tropical cyclone for 2024. It is also the fourth tropical cyclone for November alone, after Marce (Yinxing), Nika (Toraji), and Ofel (Usagi), which remains inside PAR.
Counting from October 21 to present — starting with Kristine (Trami) and Leon (Kong-rey) — Pepito is already the country’s sixth tropical cyclone in less than a month. – Rappler.com
