By Ellalyn B. De Vera and Niño N. Luces, and AFP Nona” (international name: “Melor”) intensified into a severe tropical storm and barreled toward the country yesterday, raising storm signals in Eastern Visayas and Bicol and threatening disaster-prone areas in the east coast with giant waves, flooding and landslides as it is expected to make landfall this afternoon, civil defense and weather officials warned. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Philippine Sea has further fueled the storm, now packing maximum winds of 110 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 140 kph. PAGASA charted Nona at 565 kilometers (km) east of Catarman, Northern Samar around noon on Sunday and said it was moving west-northwest at 19 kph. BARRELING TOWARDS PH – A weather forecaster points at tropical storm Nona, which is seen heading straight for the Bicol and Samar regions of the country. [...]
