MANILA, Philippines – Signal No. 5, the highest tropical cyclone wind signal, was raised in portions of Batanes due to Super Typhoon Leon (Kong-rey) late Wednesday evening, October 30.

In a bulletin issued at 11 pm on Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said “violent conditions are being experienced” in Batanes as Leon moves closer to extreme Northern Luzon.

The super typhoon was already 140 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, as of 10 pm. It slightly slowed down, moving northwest at 15 kilometers per hour from the previous 20 km/h.

Leon still has maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h and gustiness of up to 230 km/h.

PAGASA reiterated that the super typhoon might make landfall in Batanes. It is closest to the province from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, October 31.

“This super typhoon will be near or at peak intensity during its closest point of approach to Batanes,” the weather bureau said.

After passing close to Batanes, or possibly making landfall there, Leon could make landfall in Taiwan on Thursday afternoon. Taiwan is within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

“The landfall of Leon over Taiwan will result in a continuous weakening trend for the rest of the forecast period,” added the weather bureau.

Here are the areas under tropical cyclone wind signals as of 11 pm on Wednesday:

Signal No. 5

Typhoon-force winds (185 km/h), extreme threat to life and property

• northern and eastern parts of Batanes (Itbayat, Basco)

Signal No. 4

Typhoon-force winds (118 to 184 km/h), significant to severe threat to life and property

• rest of Batanes

Signal No. 3

Storm-force winds (89 to 117 km/h), moderate to significant threat to life and property

• eastern part of Babuyan Islands (Babuyan Island, Camiguin Island, Calayan Island)
• northeastern part of mainland Cagayan (Santa Ana)

Signal No. 2

Gale-force winds (62 to 88 km/h), minor to moderate threat to life and property

• rest of Babuyan Islands
• rest of mainland Cagayan
• northern part of Isabela (Santo Tomas, Santa Maria, Quezon, Delfin Albano, San Pablo, Ilagan City, Tumauini, Cabagan, Palanan, Quirino, Divilacan, Mallig, Maconacon)
• Apayao
• northern part of Kalinga (Tabuk City, Balbalan, Pinukpuk, Rizal)
• northern part of Abra (Tineg, Lacub, Malibcong)
• Ilocos Norte

Signal No. 1

Strong winds (39 to 61 km/h), minimal to minor threat to life and property

• rest of Isabela
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• rest of Abra
• rest of Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Ifugao
• Benguet
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• northern and central parts of Pangasinan (Basista, Lingayen, Villasis, Alaminos City, Anda, Malasiqui, Tayug, San Fabian, Mangaldan, Mapandan, Burgos, Dagupan City, Binalonan, Bolinao, Alcala, San Manuel, Sual, Umingan, Asingan, Labrador, Bani, Santo Tomas, Pozorrubio, San Quintin, Santa Maria, Urdaneta City, Laoac, Natividad, Mabini, San Carlos City, Manaoag, Binmaley, San Jacinto, Bugallon, Agno, Calasiao, San Nicolas, Santa Barbara, Balungao, Sison, Rosales, Dasol)
• northern and eastern parts of Nueva Ecija (Bongabon, Carranglan, Pantabangan, Laur, Rizal, Cuyapo, Talavera, Santo Domingo, Llanera, Science City of Muñoz, General Mamerto Natividad, San Jose City, Lupao, Talugtug, Gabaldon)
• northern and central parts of Aurora (Casiguran, Dinalungan, Baler, Maria Aurora, Dipaculao, San Luis, Dilasag)

“The wind flow coming towards the circulation of Leon” is bringing strong to gale-force gusts to localities outside wind signal areas, too:

Thursday, October 31

• most of Cordillera Administrative Region, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, Bataan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Northern Samar, most of Western Visayas

Friday, November 1

• Batanes, Babuyan Islands

The weather bureau also released a new rainfall outlook at 11 pm on Wednesday. Affected areas must stay on alert for floods and landslides.

Wednesday evening, October 30, to Thursday evening, October 31

• Intense to torrential rain (more than 200 millimeters): Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands
• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Apayao, Abra, Occidental Mindoro, Calamian Islands
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Isabela, Kalinga, Benguet, Mountain Province, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Antique, Negros Occidental

Thursday evening, October 31, to Friday evening, November 1

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Batanes
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Babuyan Islands, Occidental Mindoro, Ilocos Norte, Zambales, Bataan, Calamian Islands

In addition, PAGASA warned Batanes and Babuyan Islands that they face a high risk of “life-threatening” storm surges “with peak heights exceeding 3 meters above normal tide levels” in the next 48 hours.

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In the next 24 hours, these are the expected sea conditions:

Up to very rough, high, or very high seas (travel is risky for all vessels)

• Seaboard of Batanes – waves up to 14 meters high
• Seaboard of Babuyan Islands – waves up to 12 meters high
• Seaboard of northeastern mainland Cagayan – waves up to 10 meters high
• Northern seaboard of Ilocos Norte; seaboard of Isabela; remaining seaboard of Cagayan – waves up to 6 meters high
• Seaboard of northern Aurora – waves up to 5 meters high
• Remaining seaboard of Ilocos Norte – waves up to 4.5 meters high

Up to rough seas (small vessels should not venture out to sea)

• Northern and eastern seaboards of Polillo Islands and Catanduanes; seaboards of Ilocos Sur and Camarines Norte; northern seaboard of Camarines Sur – waves up to 4 meters high
• Remaining seaboards of Ilocos Region and Aurora; northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Samar; eastern seaboards of Albay, Sorsogon, and Eastern Samar – waves up to 3.5 meters high
• Eastern seaboards of Quezon (including the rest of Polillo Islands) and Dinagat Islands; western seaboard of Zambales – waves up to 3 meters high

Up to moderate seas (small vessels should take precautionary measures or avoid sailing, if possible)

• Western seaboards of Bataan, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Islands, northern mainland Palawan, and Calamian Islands; eastern seaboards of Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao Occidental – waves up to 2.5 meters high
• Remaining seaboards of Luzon; seaboards of Aklan and Capiz – waves up to 2 meters high

After crossing Taiwan, Leon is expected to head for the East China Sea and exit PAR on Thursday evening or early Friday morning, November 1.

PAGASA said another landfall in mainland China is not being ruled out.

Leon is the Philippines’ 12th tropical cyclone for 2024, and the second for October. – Rappler.com