Tropical storm Bilis begins to make presence felt by Sean Batty
Tropical storm Bilis is currently sitting in the west Pacific, over the Philippine Sea, is gaining strength and poised to hit Taiwan tomorrow.
Luzon, the northernmost of the islands that makes up the Philippines is already feeling the effects of the storm. The city of Baguio, in the north of the island has been experiencing the effects more than anyone with ravaging floods and several landslides, which have lead to the deaths of two people.
In the northern Philippines, schools were closed and flights from Manila airport cancelled as the stormy conditions intensified yesterday (11th July).
The Philippine authorities have raised the storm alert signal to No.2, for a cluster of islands in the far north of the archipelago (this is a No.2 alert on a 4 point scale of potential for damage).
Alert No.2 signals that a tropical storm is approaching and may bring winds up to 70mph in the next 24 hours. People have been warned to stay out of the seas and shelter in sturdy buildings, as structural damage is expected.
The forecast shows the next place in line to be hit is Taiwan. The Taiwan Central Weather Bureau have issued land and sea warnings as the storm approaches the island at around 10mph.
The storm currently has wind speeds of 50mph and gusts up to 60mph. However, Bilis is forecast to intensify further as it nears Taiwan tomorrow. Here it is expected to reach its maximum strength. Impact with the north of the island is expected around 1pm (BST) on Thursday when winds will be around 65mph and gusts in excess of 80mph.
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