The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) placed 10 provinces in southern and central Philippines under Signal No. 1 due to the expected entry of typhoon ”Ruby” (international name “Hagupit”).
The typhoon which has maximum sustained winds of 195 kph and gustiness of up to 230 kph is forecast to move west northwest at 20 kph thus affecting provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Norte, Siargao Island, Surigao del Sur, and Dinagat Province. Under Signal No. 1, twigs and branches of trees may be broken, banana plants may tilt or land flat on the ground, rice in flowering stage may suffer significant damage, some nipa and cogon houses may be partially unroofed, and sea travel of small seacraft and fishing boats is risky.
The track of typhoon “Ruby” is expected to be 395 km east southeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar by Friday morning and 30 km northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar by Saturday morning. Landfall is expected over the Samar area before noon.
