MANILA - Tropical storm Ambo (international name Vongfong) continued to weaken as it struck Benguet province early Saturday morning, state weather bureau PAGASA said.

Ambo, which was still bringing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 140kph, earlier hammered Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Pangasinan provinces in Luzon
after making its 7th landfall over Real, Quezon.

The eye of the tropical cyclone was spotted near Tuba, Benguet as of 4 a.m. Saturday, according to PAGASA.

Ambo is forecast to continue traversing northern Luzon before emerging over the coastal waters of Ilocos Region Saturday and is likely to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday afternoon.

The tropical storm, which was moving northwestward at 15kph, is bringing moderate to heavy rains in the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, and the northern parts of Aurora and Zambales provinces.

Residents in these areas should take appropriate precautions and continue monitoring for updates, especially local heavy rainfall warnings from PAGASA, the state weather bureau said.

It added that floods and rain-induced landslides may occur in vunerable areas during heavy or prolonged rainfall.

Tropical cyclone wind signals remained hoisted over the following areas:

Signal number 2, where wind speeds of 61 to 120 kph may be experienced within 24 hours:

• Babuyan Islands
• the northwestern portion of mainland Cagayan (Santa Praxedes, Claveria, Sanchez Mira, Pamplona, Abulug)
• Nueva Vizcaya
• the western portion of Quirino (Diffun, Cabarroguis, Nagtipunan)
• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• Pangasinan
• Apayao
• Abra
• Kalinga
• Mountain Province
• Ifugao
• Benguet
• the central portion of Aurora (Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, Baler, San Luis)
• Nueva Ecija
• Tarlac.

Signal number 1, where wind speeds of 30 to 60 kph may be experienced within 36 hours:

• Batanes
• the rest of Cagayan
• Isabela
• the rest of Quirino
• Zambales
• Bataan
• Pampanga
• Bulacan
• the rest of Aurora

Ambo, the first tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, first made landfall over San Policarpo, Eastern Samar. It later hit Dalupiri Island, Northern Samar; Capul Island, Northern Samar; Ticao Island, Masbate; Burias Island, Masbate; and San Andres, Quezon.

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