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Tropical storm “Cosme” (international name ‘Halong’) gained
strength as it approached the northern Philippines and was expected
to hit land late Saturday, the government weather station said.
The storm was about 130 kilometers west of Iba
on the main northern island of Luzon at 10:30 a.m. and moving
northeast at 19 kilometers per hour.
It was expected to hit the coastal Luzon
province of Ilocos Sur late Saturday and cross the northern tip of
Luzon.
The storm was packing maximum winds of 105
kilometers per hour near the center with gusts of up to 135
kilometers per hour, the weather station said.
The highest level of a three-step storm alert
has been raised for Ilocos Sur and its neighboring provinces north
of Manila. Lower level alerts were in force over the rest of Luzon
including over Metro Manila.
Cosme has already brought unseasonably heavy
rains to Luzon and the central islands, resulting in floods that
left two women dead on the island of Negros and forced thousands to
flee their homes earlier this week.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who is also
head of civil defense, said it was unusual for a storm to hit in May
and warned people to take adequate precautions.
-- AFP
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