Tropical storm Songda may transform into super typhoon in Philippines

Tropical storm Songda is likely to gather strength into a super typhoon as it headed for landfall in the eastern Philippines.

Named by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) as "Chedeng" as it entered the Philippine area of responsibility, the tropical storm was spotted 540 kilometers east of Borongan, Samar island.

Songda/Chedeng was clocked with maximum sustained winds of 105 kilometers near the center and gustiness reaching 135 kilometers per hour moving west-northwest at 17 kilometers per hour.

The tropical storm is expected to dump heavy rains and whip with strong winds the Pacific archipelago which lies in the path of typhoons churning at this time of the year.

Catanduanes island on the eastern fringe of country, as well as the provinces of Sorsogon, Eastern and Northern Samar have been issued a "Signal Number 1" warning. Authorities have warned residents of flash floods, landslides and storm surges.

As the tropical storm nears the eastern Philippines, the rest of the country will experience rains and thunderstorms intensified by the weather disturbance which may possibly become a super typhoon that will herald the end of the summer season.

The last super typhoon that hit the Philippines was Megi (PAGASA name "Juan") in 2010. It packed winds of up 290 kilometers per hour, well beyond the 150 kilometers per hour baseline for super typhoons.

Tropical storm Songda is expected to dump 20 to 55 millimeters of rain per hour according to PAGASA. In comparison, tropical storm Ketsana or "Ondoy" brought 56 mm per hour rainfall in September 2009, causing widespread flooding in the capital Manila and the island of Luzon.