Bebinca to intensify into typhoon, enter PAR today

MANILA, Philippines —  Severe Tropical Storm Bebinca will intensify into typhoon category as it enters the northeastern boundary of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) today, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Bebinca, which will be named Ferdie once it enters PAR, was monitored 1,975 kilometers east of Central Luzon as of 10 a.m. yesterday.

It is set to intensify into a typhoon and will exit late Friday night or Saturday morning, but will remain far from the Philippine landmass.

Bebinca was packing maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 115 km/h.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon is being enhanced by Bebinca and will bring moderate to rough seas over the eastern seaboard of Mindanao, western seaboard of Palawan including the Kalayaan Islands, western seaboard of Visayas, eastern seaboard of Palawan, western seaboard of Mindanao, and the southern and eastern seaboards of Visayas.

The trough of Bebinca will bring scattered rains over Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate.

Isolated rains are also forecast over Cagayan Valley, Aurora, Quezon and the rest of Bicol region.

Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon may see isolated rains due to localized thunderstorms.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga yesterday said that the government is working strategically across departments and local governments amid the latest report naming the Philippines as having the highest World Risk Index (WRI) in the 2024 edition of the World Risk Report.

The Philippines topped the list followed by Indonesia, India, Colombia, Mexico, Myanmar, Mozambique, the Russian Federation, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The WRI report said the Philippines scored 46.91, higher than its 46.82 and 46.86 scores in the 2022 and 2023 editions, respectively.

“Disaster risk is measured by compounding hazards, exposure and vulnerability. The Philippines is impacted by many natural hazards but under the Marcos administration it is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a steady population growth and declining poverty rate. This explains our high