Egay may become a SUPERTYPHOON by Monday, threatening Sona

MANILA, Philippines – The low-pressure area (LPA) monitored by the state weather bureau east of Southeastern Luzon has now developed into Tropical Depression Egay.



Egay, which has maintained its strength as of Friday afternoon, is the fifth tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2023 and the second in July.
A super typhoon may develop from Tropical Depression Egay by Monday, July 24, forecasters said.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address on this day.

A super typhoon is a powerful storm with gusts of at least 240 kph and may cause damage to coastal towns and buildings.

On Friday afternoon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the center of Egay was last plotted 835 kilometers east of southeastern Luzon.

It has maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and a gustiness of up to 70 kph.

Currently, is moving north-northwest at 20 kph.
Ana Clauren-Jorda, a Pagasa weather specialist, forecast that Egay might become a tropical storm in 12 hours.

It might become a super typhoon by Monday, July 24, while in the Philippines.

“Egay is forecast to move slowly in the next 24 hours and will [generally track] west-northwestward until late Sunday before turning northwestward over the Philippine Sea east of Luzon for the remainder of the forecast period,” said the state weather bureau in its 11 a.m. bulletin.

Rain alert
“In areas that will not be directly affected by Egay, monsoon rains from the enhanced southwest monsoon are possible over the western section of Minaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) and Visayas on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, monsoon rains are likely over the western section of Southern Luzon and Western Visayas,” Pagasa said.

“Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days,” it added.