Tropical storm Basyang is moving west toward the Philippines, with the eye of the storm 969 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur as of 10 p.m. on Thursday.
The storm is moving west at 30 kilometers per hour and is forecasted to move through the center of the Philippines in the next couple days, making landfall over the Surigao Provinces late Friday or early Saturday, before exiting sometime on February 2.
A Public Storm Warning is in effect for the next 36 hours. Public storm warning signal no. 1 has been hoisted over Southern Leyte, Bohol, Surigao del Norte, Siargao Island, Surigao del Sur, northern part of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Camiguin Island, Dinagat province, and Misamis Oriental.
The storm could break tree branches and level banana plants. It could also bring flash floods and landslides to low-lying and mountainous areas.
Estimated rainfall from the storm is 5 to 15 mm per hour, and Basyang “might become a tropical storm,” according to weather agency PAGASA.
Fishing boats and other seacraft are being told not to go out for the next couple days in the area.
