Aside from strong winds and heavy rains, tropical storm Cosme (international code name Halong) also brought travel woes to hundreds of travelers in the affected areas.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has closed down Kennon Road to all vehicular traffic as of 6 p.m. Saturday.
The closure of one of the region's major roads was prompted by continuous heavy downpour in the area. The scenic and historic road to Baguio City is known to experience landslides in many portions during heavy downpours.
Coast Guard cancels trips of light vessels in Batangas, Manila Bay
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Batangas has suspended all trips of light sea craft plying the route between Batangas port and Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro as of 4 p.m. Saturday.
All trips by similar-sized sea crafts within Manila Bay area has also been cancelled by the PCG.
However, large passenger ships and roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) ships are still operating normally.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) in its 5 p.m. bulletin said that the western seaboards of Southern Luzon And Visayas could experience wind force
of 55-75 kph or 30-40 knots and forecast the seas to be rough to very rough with wave heights of 3.7 - 6.5 meters
PAGASA also advised fishing boats and other small sea crafts not to venture out into the sea while bigger sea crafts are alerted against moderate to high waves.
Accidents reported
Several accidents related to the typhoon have already been reported in several areas.
A truck loaded with 15-tons of plywood had a tire explosion while plying the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) going to San Fernando, Pampanga early Saturday.
Due to the rain-drenched road, the vehicle slid and bumped on a concrete barrier.
No one was hurt, but the accident caused heavy traffic for three hours.
NLEX's traffic mobile service admitted a number of vehicular accidents were noted at the expressway especially during rainy days.
Motorists are advised to check on their vehicles and tools first before travelling.
In Subic, Zambales, several small fishing boats have been damaged by the strong waves, while in San Felipe a truck turned turtle after the driver lost control of the vehicle while driving on a slippery road.
Signal No. 3 over six provinces
The Philippine’s weather bureau on Saturday hoisted public storm warning signal no. 3 over six provinces in Luzon as Cosme made landfall over western Pangasinan Saturday.
In its 5:30 p.m. update the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) reported Cosme has changed its direction a bit and has made landfall over western Pangasinan, after it was first expected to hit land over Ilocos Sur.
Public Storm Warning Signal No. 3 has been raised over Zambales, Pangasinan, Tarlac, La Union, Benguet, and Ilocos Sur.
Storm Signal No. 2 was raised over Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Viscaya, Quirino, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, and Ilocos Norte.
Storm Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Lubang Island, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Northern Quezon, Isabela, Cagayan, Calayan Island, the Babuyan Group of Islands, Batanes and Metro Manila. With a report from Dhobie de Guzman, ABS-CBN Baguio
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