According to the latest weather forecast at 11:00 AM on August 5 (Philippines time) from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the center of tropical storm Kujira (Maymay) is located about 185km west-northwest of Bacnotan town.
The storm maintains maximum winds of 65 km/h, gusts up to 80 km/h, central pressure of 998 hPa and is moving north at a speed of about 10 km/h. Strong wind and gust circulation covers a range of up to 180 km from the storm center.
According to PAGASA, Kujira will soon turn east before making landfall in the Ilocos Sur or La Union area on the evening of August 5 or early morning of August 6. After entering the mainland, the storm is forecast to continue moving through the northern and central Luzon regions.
The meteorological agency believes that Kujira is likely to maintain tropical storm intensity before making landfall. However, when going deep inland, the system will quickly weaken due to friction with the terrain and may weaken into a tropical depression in the morning of August 6 before continuing to weaken into a low pressure area in the afternoon or evening of the same day.
To respond to the developments of the storm, PAGASA continues to maintain Typhoon Warning Signal No. 2 (TCWS No. 2) in many directly affected areas, where there is a risk of strong winds from 62-88 km/h.
At the same time, Storm Warning Signal No. 1 is still applied to a series of neighboring localities to warn of the risk of strong winds in the next 36 hours.
In addition to the impact of the storm, Kujira combined with the southwest monsoon (Habagat) is forecast to cause moderate to heavy rain, with locally very heavy rain. PAGASA warns of the risk of flooding, flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas, low-lying areas and areas with weak soil.
At sea, the meteorological agency issued a very strong sea wave warning in many coastal areas with waves up to 5m high. All ships are advised not to go out to sea, while vehicles operating at sea need to quickly find safe anchorage to avoid risks.
PAGASA also noted that heavy rain and strong winds may still occur outside the storm's eye area due to the wide circulation of Kujira. People are advised to continue to follow the latest weather forecasts and follow local authorities' instructions to proactively prevent natural disasters.
