Forecaster says Lupit can reach supertyphoon intensity

MANILA - Tropical storm "Lupit" has gained strength as it moved slightly nearer to Philippine territory on Friday morning, weather bureau PAGASA said.

As of 11 a.m., the storm was estimated at 1,300 kilometers east of Bicol region with stronger center winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 90 kph.

PAGASA said the storm has maintained its direction and speed, moving west northwest at 26 kph. The bureau said the storm was heading towards central and northern Luzon area.

"This weather system is expected to further intensify before it enters the Philippine area of responsibility this evening (Friday night)," the weather bureau said.

Nathaniel Cruz, PAGASA’s weather forecasting bureau chief, said the tropical storm might enter the Philippine area of responsibility at 10 p.m. Friday or early Saturday.

Cruz said the storm will be named Ramil once it enters Philippine territory. It will be the 18th storm to enter the country this year.

The weather forecaster said PAGASA expects Lupit to strengthen further while crossing "the vast Philippine sea," and forewarned residents already devastated by storms Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) to be prepared "for an intense typhoon."

"It can reach almost the supertyphoon intensity before hitting land, if and when there will be no change in its course, direction and speed," Cruz said.

The new storm, which was first spotted over the Marianas Islands, threatens to hit Luzon areas as its residents scramble to recover from the twin storms that devastated thousands of hectares of residential and agricultural areas in the last three weeks.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said a total of 419 people have been confirmed killed by landslides and floods caused by Pepeng's heavy rains.

Ondoy's death toll was pegged at 354, bringing the total of deaths from the two storms to 773.

The NDCC said 333 of the total deaths from Pepeng were recorded from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), with majority of deaths caused by landslides in Benguet province.

The death toll from the twin storms were expected to increase as the NDCC report showed that there were 88 people still missing from the rubbles and floods.

The NDCC said the storms affected more than 7.4 million people in Metro Manila and five more regions, including CAR, Bicol, Ilocos, Central Luzon and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon).

The cost of damage wrought by the two storms on agriculture and infrastructure in the affected regions was estimated at P21.287 billion.