MANILA, Aug 27 (NNN-PNA) – Saola intensified into a super typhoon at dawn today, threatening to dump heavy rain and severe winds in the northern Philippines, the Philippine state weather bureau said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said, Saola could bring heavy rain in mountainous areas, which could trigger flooding and landslides.
The bureau last spotted Saola over the coastal waters of Isabela province, on the northern Luzon island. Saola was blowing south-southwestward “slowly,” packing 185 km per hour winds, and gusts of up to 230 km per hour.
“The south-west monsoon, enhanced by Saola, will bring occasional or monsoon rains over Luzon mainland and the Visayas regions in the central Philippines over the next three days,” the bureau warned.
Saola is the seventh typhoon to batter the country this year.
