MANILA, Philippines – Aurora was facing a “potentially dangerous and life-threatening situation” on Sunday afternoon, November 17, as Super Typhoon Pepito (Man-yi) maintained its strength ahead of its expected second landfall in the province.

Pepito was already over the coastal waters of Baler, Aurora, as of 1 pm on Sunday. It continues to move northwest at 20 kilometers per hour (km/h).

The super typhoon still has maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h and gustiness of up to 230 km/h.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Pepito was set to hit Aurora for its second landfall between 2 pm and 5 pm on Sunday.

The super typhoon’s first landfall had been in Panganiban, Catanduanes, at 9:40 pm on Saturday, November 16. At the time, it had maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h, its peak intensity.

Portions of Aurora, Quirino, and Nueva Vizcaya were placed under Signal No. 5 as of 2 pm on Sunday. Below are all the areas under tropical cyclone wind signals.

Signal No. 5

Typhoon-force winds (185 km/h), extreme threat to life and property

• central part of Aurora (Dipaculao, Baler, Dinalungan, Maria Aurora, Casiguran, San Luis)
• southern part of Quirino (Nagtipunan)
• southern part of Nueva Vizcaya (Alfonso Castañeda)

Signal No. 4

Typhoon-force winds (118 to 184 km/h), significant to severe threat to life and property

• rest of Aurora
• rest of Nueva Vizcaya
• rest of Quirino
• southern part of Ifugao (Kiangan, Lamut, Tinoc, Asipulo, Lagawe)
• Benguet
• southern part of Ilocos Sur (Alilem, Sugpon, Suyo, Santa Cruz, Tagudin)
• La Union
• eastern part of Pangasinan (Sison, Tayug, Binalonan, San Manuel, Asingan, San Quintin, Santa Maria, Natividad, San Nicolas, Balungao, Pozorrubio, Laoac, San Jacinto, San Fabian, Manaoag, Urdaneta City, Rosales, Umingan, Mangaldan, Mapandan, Villasis, Santo Tomas)
• northern part of Nueva Ecija (Gabaldon, Laur, Bongabon, Pantabangan, Rizal, General Mamerto Natividad, Lupao, San Jose City, Llanera, Carranglan, Science City of Muñoz, Talugtug, Cuyapo)
• northern and eastern parts of Polillo Islands (Panukulan, Burdeos, Patnanungan, Jomalig)

Signal No. 3

Storm-force winds (89 to 117 km/h), moderate to significant threat to life and property

• southern part of Isabela (San Agustin, Jones, Echague, San Guillermo, Angadanan, Alicia, San Mateo, Ramon, San Isidro, Santiago City, Cordon, Dinapigue, Roxas, San Manuel, Aurora, Cabatuan, Cauayan City, Luna)
• rest of Ifugao
• Mountain Province
• southern part of Abra (Tubo, Luba, Pilar, Villaviciosa, San Isidro, Pidigan, Langiden, San Quintin, Bangued, Manabo)
• rest of Ilocos Sur
• rest of Pangasinan
• northern and eastern parts of Tarlac (Paniqui, La Paz, Moncada, Tarlac City, Gerona, Pura, San Clemente, Santa Ignacia, Victoria, Camiling, Concepcion, Ramos, San Manuel, Anao)
• rest of Nueva Ecija
• northern part of Bulacan (Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Miguel)
• northern part of Quezon (Infanta, General Nakar) including the rest of Polillo Islands

Signal No. 2

Gale-force winds (62 to 88 km/h), minor to moderate threat to life and property

• rest of Isabela
• southwestern part of mainland Cagayan (Enrile, Tuao, Solana, Tuguegarao City, Piat, Rizal)
• Kalinga
• southern part of Apayao (Conner, Kabugao)
• rest of Abra
• Ilocos Norte
• Zambales
• Bataan
• Pampanga
• rest of Bulacan
• Metro Manila
• Rizal
• Cavite
• Laguna
• central and eastern parts of Quezon (Pitogo, Buenavista, Lucena City, Calauag, Pagbilao, Tiaong, Lopez, Guinayangan, Unisan, General Luna, Plaridel, Quezon, San Antonio, Alabat, Candelaria, Lucban, Sampaloc, Padre Burgos, Sariaya, Tayabas City, Macalelon, Mauban, Dolores, Perez, Agdangan, Gumaca, Atimonan, Real, Tagkawayan)
• Camarines Norte
• northwestern part of Camarines Sur (Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot)

Signal No. 1

Strong winds (39 to 61 km/h), minimal to minor threat to life and property

• rest of mainland Cagayan
• rest of Apayao
• Batangas
• northern part of Occidental Mindoro (Abra de Ilog, Paluan) including Lubang Islands
• northern part of Oriental Mindoro (Puerto Galera, San Teodoro, Naujan, Baco, Victoria, Socorro, Pinamalayan, Gloria, Pola, Calapan City)
• northwestern part of Romblon (Banton, Corcuera, Concepcion)
• Marinduque
• rest of Quezon
• rest of Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes
• Albay
• northern part of Sorsogon (Donsol, Pilar, Castilla, Sorsogon City, Prieto Diaz)
• Burias Island

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PAGASA also released an updated rainfall advisory for Pepito, covering Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon, November 18. Floods and landslides remain expected.

• Intense to torrential rain (more than 200 millimeters): Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Pangasinan
• Heavy to intense rain (100-200 mm): Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Kalinga, Benguet, Abra, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Bulacan, Rizal
• Moderate to heavy rain (50-100 mm): Metro Manila, Ilocos Sur, Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac, Pampanga, Laguna, Camarines Norte

In addition, there is a high risk of “life-threatening” storm surges “with peak surge heights exceeding 3 meters” in the Ilocos Region (western coast), Isabela, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Marinduque, and Bicol within 48 hours. View the map below, and check the list of specific cities and municipalities here.

After its potential landfall in Aurora on Sunday afternoon, Pepito is expected to cross the northern part of Central Luzon and the southern part of Northern Luzon “via the upland regions of the Sierra Madre, Caraballo, and Cordillera Central” mountain ranges between Sunday afternoon and evening.

When Pepito crosses mainland Luzon, “significant weakening will occur,” according to PAGASA, but it is still likely to be of typhoon strength.

Afterwards, Pepito will exit the landmass of Luzon on Sunday evening or early Monday morning and head for the West Philippine Sea, where it could further weaken “due to the incoming northeasterly wind surge.”

Pepito may exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Monday morning or noon.

PAGASA maintained its outlook for coastal waters in the next 24 hours. The weather bureau also reiterated that wave heights in affected seaboards are “not related to storm surge heights or inundation.”

Up to very rough, high, or very high seas (travel is risky for all vessels)

• Northern and eastern seaboards of Polillo Islands; seaboard of Aurora – waves up to 14 meters high
• Seaboard of Camarines Norte – waves up to 12 meters high
• Seaboard of northern Quezon – waves up to 9 meters high
• Seaboard of Isabela – waves up to 8 meters high
• Northern and eastern seaboards of Catanduanes; northern seaboard of Camarines Sur – waves up to 7 meters high
• Eastern seaboards of mainland Cagayan, Camarines Sur, and Albay; remaining seaboards of Polillo Islands and Catanduanes – waves up to 5 meters high
• Seaboards of Sorsogon and Northern Samar; eastern seaboard of Eastern Samar; remaining seaboards of Camarines Sur, Albay, and Quezon; seaboards of Ilocos Region, Masbate including Burias Island and Ticao Island, and Marinduque – waves up to 4.5 meters high

Up to rough seas (small vessels should not venture out to sea)

• Seaboards of Batanes, northern Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, and Zambales – waves up to 4 meters high
• Seaboards of Romblon; remaining seaboards of Zambales; eastern seaboard of Oriental Mindoro – waves up to 3 meters high

Up to moderate seas (small vessels should take precautionary measures or avoid sailing, if possible)

• Western seaboard of Bataan; eastern seaboard of Dinagat Islands – waves up to 2.5 meters high
• Seaboards of Metro Manila, Aklan, Antique, northeastern Iloilo, northern Negros Occidental, and northern Cebu including Bantayan Islands, and Biliran; northern and eastern seaboards of Leyte; eastern seaboards of Southern Leyte, Surigao del Sur, and Davao Oriental; northern and western seaboards of Dinagat Islands; remaining seaboards of Bataan and Calabarzon; northern seaboards of Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Islands and Oriental Mindoro – waves up to 2 meters high

Pepito is the Philippines’ 16th tropical cyclone for 2024. It is also the fourth tropical cyclone for November alone, after Marce (Yinxing), Nika (Toraji), and Ofel (Usagi).

Counting from October 21 to present — starting with Kristine (Trami) and Leon (Kong-rey) — Pepito is already the country’s sixth tropical cyclone in less than a month. – Rappler.com