‘Betty’ winds hit N. Luzon, storm to exit PH Friday

By Rio N. Araja and Charles Dantes

MORE than 4,000 people were moved to safer ground Monday as Typhoon Betty was raised to Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 2, with Cagayan and Batanes provinces just beginning to feel the strong wind and rains that leveled some old structures in northern Luzon.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour and 190 kph gusts, Betty was spotted 470 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan while moving west-northwestward at 10 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

The former super typhoon, with international name Mawar, is expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility on Friday, the state weather bureau said.

BETTY’S WRATH. In these ABS-CBN TV report screen grabs, an old warehouse inside Port Irene in Sta. Ana, Cagayan is captured on video moments before it collapsed owing to the strong winds