The northern part of Cebu, if not the entire Cebu island, may be placed under storm signal number 1 between tonight, December 27, and tomorrow, December 28.
Engineer Alfredo Quiblat Jr., chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)- Visayas, said Tropical Depression (TD) Usman would likely intensify into a tropical storm before it would make its first landfall in the southern tip of Samar early on December 28.
TD Usman was last spotted about 690 kilometers East Northeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Norte, with maximum sustained winds of 55 km per hour.
It is moving East Northeast with a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.
“Tomorrow (December 27), sa hapon masinati na sa Eastern Visayas ang trough sa bagyo. Naay scattered light to moderate nga mga pag-uwan,” said Quiblat.
(Tomorrow afternoon, Eastern Visayas will likely feel the effect of the trough of the storm. There will be scattered light to moderate rains.)
A tropical storm warning signal number 1 is expected to be raised in the provinces of Eastern Visayas between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
After Southern Samar, TD Usman is also expected to make landfall in the northern tip of Cebu, bringing about 60 to 80 millimeters of rain volume.
TD Usman will likely make landfall in northern Cebu around noon on Friday, December 28.
“Ang iyang landfall is Southern Samar on December 28, that is the primary track. Paghuman niya sa Southern Samar, second landfall niya is northern Cebu padung sa Panay Island ug mo-exit sa landmass sa Visayas on December 29,” Quiblat said.
(Its primary track suggests that it will make its first landfall on December 28. After Southern Samar, it will make a second landfall in northern Cebu and exit through the Visayas landmass on December 29.)
“With this forecast track, expected nga if not tonight, tomorrow morning, a signal 1 will be raised in Eastern Samar. Ugma sa hapon or gabii, duna na pod tay signal number 1 if not whole Cebu, northern Cebu,” he added.
Quiblat said that TD Usman will make the fourth landfall in northern Palawan on December 30 before going out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Monday, December 31.
Although Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has yet to activate its alert status, coordination among local disaster offices has been initiated on Wednesday afternoon.
Among the local government units (LGUs) that have already alerted their local disaster offices and has coordinated with PDRRMO as of Wednesday afternoon are the municipalities of Carmen, Minglanilla, Cordova, Tabuelan and Dumanjug.
The Provincial Tourism Office, according to the PDRRMO bulletin, has already coordinated with tourism managers in different LGUs to take precautionary measures for their guests in their respective tourism destinations.
Meanwhile, one shipping line has already canceled a trip bound to Hilongos, Leyte, yesterday in anticipation of the effect of the weather system.
Quiblat said small fishing vessels would also be discouraged to sail as waves in the northern Cebu seas would likely be about 4-meters high when it would be placed on signal number 1.