MANILA, Philippines - The state weather bureau on Tuesday afternoon placed more provinces under storm warning signal 3 as typhoon "Karen" (international name: Nuri) further strengthened and continued to move closer to northern Luzon.
In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that apart from Cagayan and Isabela, the provinces of Apayao, Calayan Group of Islands, Babuyan Group of Islands and Batanes have been added to the areas placed under storm signal number 3.
On the other hand, the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Quirino, Nueva Viscaya and northern Aurora were placed under storm signal number 2.
The areas under storm signal number 1, meanwhile, are La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, rest of Aurora and Polilio Island, Pagasa said.
The state weather bureau alerted residents along the coastal areas under storm warning signal number 2 and 3 against big waves and storm surges generated by "Karen".
As of 4 p.m., typhoon Karen was spotted 330 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph. It is moving west northwest at 22 kph.
Forecasters expect "Karen" to make landfall over the northern tip of Cagayan before Wednesday noon and 100 km northwest of Aparri, Cagayan later in the afternoon.
By Thursday afternoon, 'Karen' is expected to be 400 km northwest of Aparri, Cagayan or 330 km west northwest of Basco, Batanes.
The typhoon is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao especially in the western sections of the mentioned areas. - GMANews.TV