TYPHOON Opong (international name: Bualoi) has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) as of Saturday morning, according to PAGASA’s 11 a.m. bulletin.
As of 10 a.m., the center of Opong was estimated to be 645 km west of Sangley Point, Cavite City, Cavite. PAGASA has lifted all tropical cyclone wind signals. Opong was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h near the center, with gustiness of up to 150 km/h and a central pressure of 970 hPa. The typhoon is moving west northwestward at 35 km/h towards northern Vietnam. Strong to typhoon-force winds extended outwards up to 400 km from Opong’s center.
While Opong has moved away from the Philippines, it has enhanced the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat), which will continue to bring strong to gale-force gusts in Luzon, Western Visayas, and Negros Occidental, particularly in coastal and upland areas exposed to winds. PAGASA has also warned of rough coastal waters in the following areas:
- Seaboards of Lubang Island and Kalayaan Islands: up to 3.5 m
- Seaboards of Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, and Zambales; the western seaboards of Bataan, Calamian Islands, and Northern Palawan: up to 3.0 m
PAGASA advises mariners of small seacrafts, including all types of motorbancas, not to venture out to sea under these conditions, especially if inexperienced or operating ill-equipped vessels.
