Typhoon Goni Gains Strength as It Heads to the Philippines
Typhoon Goni Gains Strength as It Heads to the Philippines
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Typhoon Goni continued to strengthen on its way to the Philippines, tracking a path similar to Molave that has killed dozens of people and damaged homes and crops in the Philippines and Vietnam.
Goni’s winds are forecast to reach 155 miles (249 kilometers) per hour by Saturday morning, before weakening slightly as it approaches eastern Philippines, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
The eastern provinces of Aurora and Quezon may experience “very destructive” winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour when the typhoon makes landfall on Sunday evening or Monday morning, the local weather bureau said Friday in its 5 p.m. bulletin. The rice-producing central Luzon region is along Goni’s path.
Catanduanes island in eastern Philippines has been placed under the lowest storm warning signal, and will experience strong breeze in the next 36 hours, the weather bureau said. A storm surge of up to 2 meters may be experienced in eastern coastal areas, it added.
Another typhoon, Atsani, is forecast to enter Philippine territory as early as Sunday, but is unlikely to bring severe weather to the country in the next three days, the local weather agency said.
The U.S. measures wind speed on a different scale than most other countries, so its values tend to be higher.
Typhoon Molave left at least 22 people dead, damaged nearly 1.7 billion pesos ($35 million) of farm output and more than 52,000 houses in the Philippines, according to authorities. In Vietnam, it has killed at least 23 people, damaged homes and crops, and may delay coffee harvesting.
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