Storm Saola may grow into super typhoon north-east of Philippines

MANILA – Storm Saola north-east of the Philippines has developed into a typhoon and may strengthen into a super typhoon by Monday, the national weather bureau said.

The weather system known locally as Goring was upgraded to a typhoon on Friday night “following rapid intensification” and is expected to bring heavy rainfall and “severe winds”, according to an advisory by the bureau, Pagasa, at 11am on Saturday. It is east of the Babuyan Islands, which are north-northeast of the main Luzon Island. 

Saola is forecast to exit a looping path and move north-westward towards the sea east of Taiwan, the bureau said. The eye of Saola is about 155km east-northeast of Aparri, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 150kmh near the centre, and gusts of as much as 185kmh.

It is too early to say whether the system will make landfall in Taiwan later in the week, according to the path on Zoom Earth.

The Philippines has an average of 20 tropical cyclones a year, making it one of the world’s worst-hit countries, according to Pagasa. Saola is the seventh tropical cyclone to reach the country so far in 2023.

The system is already affecting parts of Cagayan and Isabela provinces on the eastern board of Luzon, where a tropical cyclone warning at level 3 has been hoisted. Winds that can cause “heavy damage to high-risk structures” may be expected within 24 hours, the bureau said.

The provinces were among the areas hit by super typhoon Doksuri in July. Half a million people were affected and 14 died. The storm destroyed more than 1.3 billion pesos (S$31 billion) of agricultural crops and caused 2.66 billion pesos of damage to infrastructure. BLOOMBERG