Typhoon “Hanna” continued to intensify while moving toward Southern Ryukyu Islands in Japan.
The eye of the storm was estimated 600 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, with maximum, sustained winds of 140 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.
Meanwhile, two lawmakers on Wednesday slammed the Coast Guard and the Marina for failing to prevent another disaster due to their alleged laxity in enforcing maritime laws.
At the same time, Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Eufemia Cullamat of Bayan Muna expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the Iloilo sea mishap that killed 31 people.
“This is another mishap caused by the negligence of regulatory or monitoring agencies as well as the greed of businessmen who did not consider the interest of the passengers,” Zarate said.
Hanna was moving west-northwest at 15 kph.
According to the weather bureau, a low-pressure area has been spotted 325 km west of Dagupan City in Pangasinan, adding the southwest monsoon is affecting the whole country.
The outer rain bands of “Hanna” will bring light to moderate with at times heavy rain and gusty winds over Batanes and the Babuyan Group of Islands until today, Thursday.
Moderate to heavy monsoon rain may affect Metro Manila, the Ilocos, Cordillera Administrative Region, Zambales, Bataan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro and the northern portions of Palawan, including Calamian and Cuyo Islands. With Maricel V. Cruz