Carina now a severe tropical storm; Signal No. 1 up

Signal No. 1 is raised in Santa Ana, Cagayan, due to Severe Tropical Storm Carina (Gaemi) on Sunday evening, July 21

MANILA, Philippines – Carina (Gaemi) strengthened from a tropical storm into a severe tropical storm on Sunday evening, July 21, while almost stationary over the Philippine Sea.

Carina’s maximum sustained winds increased from 85 kilometers per hour to 95 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in a bulletin released past 11 pm on Sunday. Its gustiness remains up to 115 km/h.

With Carina barely moving, it was located 385 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora, at 10 pm.

While the severe tropical storm is not expected to make landfall in the Philippines, it will still affect some northern provinces due to its size.

PAGASA has raised Signal No. 1 for the northeastern part of Cagayan province, specifically the municipality of Santa Ana, as of 11 pm on Sunday. This means strong winds from Carina will be felt in Santa Ana in 36 hours.

The severe tropical storm’s outer rainbands will also trigger moderate to intense rain in these areas:

Sunday evening, July 21, to Monday evening, July 22

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 millimeters): extreme northeastern part of mainland Cagayan
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Babuyan Islands, eastern part of mainland Cagayan, eastern part of Isabela

Monday evening, July 22, to Tuesday evening, July 23

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Babuyan Islands, northeastern part of mainland Cagayan
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Batanes, rest of mainland Cagayan

Tuesday evening, July 23, to Wednesday evening, July 24

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Batanes
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Babuyan Islands

Floods and landslides are possible.

On Monday, July 22, Carina is projected to strengthen into a typhoon. “Rapid intensification within the forecast period is likely,” PAGASA warned.

Carina is also enhancing the southwest monsoon or habagat, which will continue to affect parts of Luzon in the next three days.

The enhanced southwest monsoon will cause rain — and possibly floods as well as landslides — in the following areas:

Monday, July 22

• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro
• Moderate to occasionally heavy rain (50-100 mm): Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Calamian Islands

Tuesday, July 23

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Ilocos Region, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Metro Manila, Apayao, Abra, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Calamian Islands

Wednesday, July 24

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Abra, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Calamian Islands

Strong to gale-force gusts from the enhanced southwest monsoon will also be felt in these regions and provinces:

Sunday evening, July 21, to Monday evening, July 22

• Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Northern Samar, northern part of Samar

Monday evening, July 22, to Tuesday evening, July 23

• Zambales, Bataan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Visayas

Tuesday evening, July 23, to Wednesday evening, July 24

• Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Visayas

In addition, Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon will cause moderate to rough seas in the northern and eastern seaboards of the country (waves 1.5 to 3.5 meters high) and the western seaboards of Central Luzon and Southern Luzon (waves 1.5 to 3 meters high). PAGASA advised small boats not to venture out to sea.

ALSO ON RAPPLER

• Biggest pro win: Alex Eala sweeps W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz singles, doubles titles
• LOOK: Paris landmarks that will serve as Olympic venues
• [OPINION] Rodrigo Duterte and his ‘unconditional love’ for China

---

Carina is seen to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday night, July 24, or early Thursday morning, July 25, while moving near or over the islands of Japan’s Ryukyu archipelago.

“From Thursday onwards, Carina will move over the East China Sea towards southeastern China,” added PAGASA.

Carina is the Philippines’ third tropical cyclone for 2024. The second, Butchoy, left PAR as a tropical depression on Saturday morning, July 20. Butchoy has since become a tropical storm and was given the international name Prapiroon on Sunday.

Butchoy and Carina both developed on Friday evening, July 19. By that time, Butchoy was already moving away from Philippine landmass, with no direct impact. But as a low pressure area, it had affected parts of the country earlier in the week, alongside the southwest monsoon.

PAGASA previously estimated there may be two or three tropical cyclones in July. – Rappler.com