The satellite image of Typhoon Ursula as of 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24. | Photo via Pagasa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The four towns of Camotes Island are now under Storm Signal Number 3, the state weather bureau said in its 2 p.m. severe weather bulletin on Tuesday, December 24.
This happened as Ursula intensified into a typhoon carrying a maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometer per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph.
Camotes Island include the towns of Poro, Pilar, Tudela and San Francisco.
Ursula is slowing down to 20 kph as it draws near Eastern Samar.
It is expected to make its first landfall in Eastern Samar on Tuesday afternoon or few hours before Christmas.
As of 1 p.m., the center of Typhoon Ursula was located at about 95 kilometers east of the municipality of Guiuan.
Also under signal number 3 are the provinces of Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran and Leyte.
Northern Cebu towns such as Bantayan, Madridejos, Santa Fe, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, Bogo City, Tabogon, Tabuelan, and Borbon are also under signal number 2 while the rest of northern and central Cebu are under signal number 1.
Rhee Telen Jr. of the Cebu Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Office (PDRRMO) said the local disaster officers in San Fransisco town in Camotes started information dissemination activities on Tuesday morning, December 24, in preparation for Ursula.
Telen said the Municipality of Daan bantayan has called for preemptive evacuation of residents living in coastal communities.
The PDRRMO has not received reports of Ursula-related incidents yet of 3 p.m. / celr