TROPICAL Cyclone Leon has intensified into a severe tropical storm, days after more than 100 people were killed by Kristine, the worst storm of the year, the state weather bureau said Monday.
Moving westward at 20 kilometers per hour (kph), Leon was estimated at 780 kilometers (km) east of Echague, Isabela, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph, the weather bureau said.
In its 12 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the highest wind signal that may be hoisted during the occurrence of a severe tropical storm would be Signal No. 3 or 4, especially in extreme Northern Luzon.
Signal No. 1 was raised over the eastern portion of mainland Cagayan, the eastern portion of Isabela and the northeastern portion of Catanduanes in Luzon.
Nearly a million people are still sheltering at evacuation centers or with relatives after losing their homes or being driven out by floodwaters brought by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami), which struck on October 22.
Now the national weather agency says Leon (international name: Kong-rey) will bring heavy rain and severe wind to land in the coming hours and cause rough seas off the east coast.
Leon will strengthen into a typhoon by Tuesday and pass close to small Philippine islands in the north as early as Wednesday, the weather service said in a bulletin.
The lowest of a five-stage storm alert is in place on the country’s northeast coast.
Kristine, by contrast, struck some of the country’s most populous areas.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of those reported dead due to Kristine breached the 100 mark, as a million people were added to the millions already affected by the storm.
As of October 28, there were 116 reported deaths, 10 of which were already validated. There were also 39 people reported missing and 109 injured.
Some 6.7 million people, or 1.6 million families from 10,147 villages nationwide, have been affected by the storm. Of these, 980,355 people have sought shelter in 6,286 evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC also said Kristine caused an estimated P2.5 billion in agricultural damage and P1.5 billion worth of damage to infrastructure.
Three days after Kristine devastated the Bicol Region and other areas, 17 national road sections and three national bridges remained impassable to traffic, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
In a report to Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, DPWH Region 5 Director Virigilio Eduarte said Monday that damage to infrastructure in the Bicol Region has reached P1.9 billion.
Eduarte said floods remained in some areas.
“Based on our experience, [it takes] five to seven days for flood waters to subside in Camarines Sur because it is the catch basin of Albay and Camarines Norte,” he said.
Some 160 cities and municipalities have also been placed under a state of calamity.
Some P658.7 million worth of assistance has been provided to affected people.
The weather bureau, meanwhile, said a further westward shift was not ruled out for Leon, which would bring it closer to the country than earlier forecast.
It said it expects Leon to smash into Taiwan at typhoon strength early Friday.
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