Typhoon Kaemi, locally called Glenda, has slowed down but continued to threaten the Batanes Group of Islands in the northernmost part of the Philippines, the Philippine weather bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said Saturday.

PAGASA said as of 16:00 local time (08:00 am GMT), the typhoon was spotted 690 kilometers southeast of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan in northern Philippines with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kilometers per hour. The typhoon is moving west and northwest with a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.

The weather bureau forecast that, by Sunday afternoon, Kaemi will be 450 kilometers southeast of Basco, Batanes. It is expected to be 100 kilometers southeast of Batanes by Monday afternoon and 250 kilometers northwest by Tuesday afternoon.

PAGASA said Storm Signal No. 1 has been raised over Isabela, Cagayan, Calayan Group of Islands and Batanes Group of Islands in northern Philippines. It added that extreme northern Luzon will have rains and gusty winds and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.

"This disturbance is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon which may bring moderate to heavy rains with occasional gusty winds over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas. Residents along the coastal areas under public storm warning signal 1 are advised to seek higher grounds due to big waves that will be generated by Typhoon Glenda," the weather bureau said.

It said the rest of Luzon and Visayas in central Philippines will experience occasional monsoon rains. The Bicol region and Eastern Visayas, both in central Philippines, will experience frequent rains that might trigger flashfloods or landslides. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

The northern and central parts of the Philippines were hit last week by the powerful typhoon Bilis, locally known as Florita, which killed at least 28 people in the country

Source: Xinhua