By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The Philippines is bracing for a super typhoon, the strongest in the world in 2015, which has entered the country's area of responsibility.
The state-run weather agency said Wednesday that forecasts had predicted that Typhoon Soudelor would not to make landfall, but was expected to bring strong monsoon winds and rains.
The Typhoon - renamed "Hanna" when it entered the Philippines territory - was packing a maximum wind of 195 kilometers an hour and was monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) at 1,360 kilometers east of Cagayan province in the country's north earlier in the morning.
It is the eighth tropical cyclone to enter the country this year and first this month.
PAGASA weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio told the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) that a public storm warning signal is yet to be raised, but the typhoon will bring rains over Mindanao and is expected to trigger flash floods and landslides.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) cautioned fishermen and those with small boats against venturing out over the eastern seaboard of the central and southern Philippines.
"Fishing boats and other small sea craft are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” it warned.
Local government units from across the archipelago have been making preparations for whatever effects the typhoon would bring.
Mayor Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar of Isabela City, Basilan province, instructed chiefs of villages in coastal areas islands to tell their constituents to “suspend any activity at sea.”
Akbar also ordered the immediate evacuation of residents in landslide and flood-prone areas.
She also told the residents to ensure they have reserve food “for the duration of the bad weather” as well as emergency kits like flashlights.
In the province of Zamboanga del Sur, the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils have been placed on alert and ready to respond to any emergencies.
PAGASA said Hanna will remain in the country's area of responsibility until Saturday.
