PAGASA warns of 5-meter high storm surges in Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela

MANILA - "Lawin" (international name "Haima") is now a super typhoon, the U.S. Naval Observatory's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said Tuesday night.

The U.S. weather agency expects Lawin to continue gaining more strength before making landfall over northern Philippines.

Philippine weather bureau PAGASA, in its latest advisory Tuesday night, has yet to raise Lawin to a super typhoon status because of differences in its measurements compared to the JTWC.

PAGASA said Lawin intensified over the past 24 hours and was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of 240 kph.

It was moving west-northwest at 25 kph.

Storm signal number 2 was raised in Cagayan, Isabela and northern Aurora.

Storm signal number 1 was raised in the following provinces:

• Calayan group of islands
• Batanes group of islands
• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• Apayao
• Abra
• Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Ifugao
• La Union
• Benguet
• Tarlac
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Quirino
• Pangasinan
• Nueva ECija
• Rest of Aurora
• Zambales
• Pampanga
• Bulacan
• Northern Quezon
• Polilio Islands
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes

PAGASA warned of possible storm surges of 5 meters along coastal areas of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela.

The Japan Meteorological Agency, meanwhile, has classified Lawin as violent typhoon, the highest among its intensity classifications.

The UK Meteorological Office said that aside from damaging winds, a further 300 to 500 mm of rain is expected from the typhoon, which means flooding and mudslides are likely.

Powerful typhoon #Haima intensives and is expected to hit Luzon on Wednesday night with winds gusting around 180mph pic.twitter.com/EWaEdKl1qo

— Met Office (@metoffice) October 18, 2016

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