MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Carina (Gaemi) was already crossing Taiwan and nearing the northern boundary of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in the early hours of Thursday, July 25.

In its 5 am bulletin on Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Carina was located 465 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes, or in the vicinity of Hsinchu County, Taiwan. Taiwan is within PAR.

The typhoon is moving north at 20 kilometers per hour, slightly faster than its previous speed of 15 km/h.

As expected, Carina weakened further after making landfall in Taiwan, with its maximum sustained winds down to 150 km/h from 175 km/h. Its gustiness, however, is now up to 250 km/h from 215 km/h.

At its peak, Carina was a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h, but it was at this strength for only a few hours on Wednesday, July 24.

Carina did not make landfall in the Philippines, but still affected parts of Northern Luzon and continues to enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Since the typhoon is moving away from Philippine landmass, Signal No. 2 has been lifted as of 5 am on Thursday and only Batanes remains under Signal No. 1. Strong winds will still be felt in the province.

There has been no more heavy rain directly from Carina since Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the enhanced southwest monsoon is still causing rain in parts of Luzon on Thursday.

In some areas, the situation may be relatively better compared to Wednesday, when Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Cainta in Rizal, and Baco in Oriental Mindoro were placed under a state of calamity. But affected areas must remain on alert for floods and landslides.

PAGASA maintained the following rainfall forecast for the enhanced southwest monsoon:

Thursday, July 25

• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Zambales, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, rest of Ilocos Region, Abra, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro

Friday, July 26

• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Zambales, Bataan, Pangasinan, Benguet

Saturday, July 27

• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Zambales, Bataan

Strong to gale-force gusts from the enhanced southwest monsoon will persist in these regions and provinces as well:

Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26

• Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, eastern part of Isabela, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Negros Occidental, Northern Samar

Saturday, July 27

• Batanes, Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Marinduque, Romblon, Kalayaan Islands

ALSO ON RAPPLER

• Stranded commuters, motorists endure Metro Manila’s floods
• Canceled flights due to Typhoon Carina, southwest monsoon: July 25, 2024
• SSS to offer calamity loan to members affected by Typhoon Carina

---

For coastal waters, a new gale warning was issued at 5 am on Thursday for Batanes (waves 3.7 to 4.5 meters high) as well as Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and the northwestern part of Cagayan (waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high). Travel remains risky for small boats due to rough to very rough seas.

Aside from areas under the gale warning, the seaboards listed below will continue to be affected by Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon. It is also not advisable for small boats to venture out to sea.

• western seaboard of Central Luzon – rough seas (waves 2.5 to 4 meters high)
• northern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon outside gale warning areas as well as western seaboard of Southern Luzon – moderate to rough seas (waves 1.5 to 4 meters high)
• eastern seaboard of Northern Luzon – moderate to rough seas (waves 1.5 to 3.5 meters high)
• eastern seaboards of Central Luzon and Southern Luzon as well as southern seaboard of Southern Luzon – up to moderate seas (waves 1 to 2.5 meters high)
• western and eastern seaboards of the Visayas as well as eastern seaboard of Mindanao – up to moderate seas (waves 1 to 2 meters high)

Carina is set to leave PAR on Thursday morning, cross the Taiwan Strait, then make its final landfall in southeastern China in the afternoon or evening.

“This typhoon will continue to weaken as it further interacts with the mountainous terrain of Taiwan and the landmass of southeastern China,” PAGASA said.

Carina is the Philippines’ third tropical cyclone for 2024 and the second for July. PAGASA previously estimated there may be two or three tropical cyclones during the month. – Rappler.com