Typhoon Doksuri has rapidly intensified and may become a super typhoon as it threatens to hit land north of the Philippines before possibly heading to Taiwan.
The typhoon, called Egay in the Philippines, has maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) an hour and gusts of up to 170 kilometers, the Philippine weather agency Pagasa said Monday. Moving westward at 15 kilometers per hour, it’s forecast to hit land or pass very close to the Philippines’ northern islands between tomorrow and July 26, the local bureau said. It’s expected to be 49 nautical miles off the port city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan later Wednesday, according to the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
The second in a five-tier wind signal system has been hoisted in some areas in eastern Philippines, with light to moderate risks to light structures. The typhoon may also bring occasional rains to other parts of the main Luzon island as it enhances the southwest monsoon, the state weather bureau said.
On Saturday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that government work and public-school classes in Metro Manila have been suspended on Monday. Marcos, who is set to deliver his State of the Nation Address on the day, cited weather risks and a scheduled transport strike for the suspension.
Share trading will take place as usual on the Philippine bourse, while foreign-exchange transactions on the local spot market will be suspended. Monday is “a regular trading day,” Philippine Stock Exchange President Ramon Monzon said in a memorandum on Sunday.
There will be no trading on the Philippine currency market on Monday because the central bank-operated payment and settlement system will be suspended amid a scheduled transport strike, the Bankers Association of the Philippines said. Similarly, there will be no bond trading, the local debt exchange said. The Bureau of the Treasury said a weekly treasury bills auction will be moved to Tuesday.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center located Doksuri 344 nautical miles east of Manila. It forecast the storm would make its closest point of approach to Taipei and Hong Kong on July 27, before heading to Shanghai.
Doksuri may become the first typhoon to hit Taiwan since 2019, according to Chang Cheng Chuan, a forecaster at Taiwan’s Central Forecast Center. The initial impact on outer-region circulation may be felt on Tuesday, with direct effects from Wednesday to Thursday, Chang said.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the chance of Doksuri moving toward the coast of eastern Guangdong “still cannot be ruled out” as it is forecast to “gradually” edge closer to the vicinity of Taiwan this week.
--With assistance from Andreo Calonzo.
(Adds details from latest weather bulletin throughout.)
Author: Ditas Lopez, Chien-Hua Wan and Denise Wee
