Ester intensifies into storm, continues moving away from RP

Tropical cyclone Ester on Sunday afternoon intensified into a tropical storm as it continued to move away from Philippine territory and toward the southern islands of Japan. In its 5 p.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Ester will still enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over Luzon and Visayas. "'Ester' will continue to enhance the Southwest Monsoon and bring rains over Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters over these areas will be rough and dangerous to small seacrafts and fishing boats," it said. It reminded residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under Signal 1 and areas over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas against possible flashfloods and landslides. As of 4 p.m., PAGASA said Ester was estimated at 410 kms northeast of Basco, Batanes, with maximum winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It was movin north-Northeast at 15 kph and is expected to be 700 km north-northeast of Basco, Batanes or 120 km west of Okinawa, Japan by Monday afternoon. Still under Storm Signal No. 1 is the Batanes Group of Islands. Public storm signals elsewhere were lowered. "Batanes group of islands will experience rains with gusty winds. The rest of Luzon and Visayas will have monsoon rains which may trigger flashfloods and landslides. The rest of the country will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms," PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail throughout the entire archipelago and the coastal waters will be moderate to rough. - KBK, GMANews.TV