Typhoon "Pablo" enters Philippines' territories

"Pablo" (international name Bopha) is the 16th storm to visit the Philippines and the second to hit land in 2012. Pablo, which measures 259 kilometers per hour, has reached supertyphoon status comparable to a Category 5 cyclone in the Western hemisphere, said American meteorologists of the US Navy and Air Force's Joint Typhoon Watch Center (JTWC).

PAGASA weather division chief Robert Sawi said floods and landslides are possible to occur in Surigao, Davao, Compostela Valley, Misamis, Bukidnon, Lanao, Zamboanga, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Panay and Mindoro.

The typhoon is expected to cross the Visayas islands on Wednesday (Dec. 5) towards Panay, northern Palawan and Mindoro, and over the South Philippine Sea on Thursday as it gradually weakens, the PAGASA weather division chief added in an interview.

PAGASA officials also said that there is a possibility that Pablo will become a super typhoon and may be even stronger than "Sendong," which caused massive destruction in Mindanao in December 2011.

A Typhoon is categorized as cyclones with maximum sustained winds over 118 kph. 'Supertyphoon’ is a category created by the media and is used by the US-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Typhoon ‘Pablo’, the 16th to visit the country for this year is the second storm after Tropical Storm ‘Ofel’ to hit land. Last October, Ofel made landfall over Siargao Island in Northern Mindanao. When it hit, the storm only packed 65 kph maximum sustained winds; a far cry from the 185 kph that ‘Pablo’ is packing.