Tropical storm "Seniang" (international codename: Utor) strengthened as it moved closer to the central Philippines, including Cebu province where the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit will be held, the state weather bureau said on Friday.

 

Seniang, which packs maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 90 kph, was spotted 780 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar at 4:45 a.m. Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a bulletin.

 

At the same time, the PAGASA raised public storm signal number 1 over Samar and Leyte provinces in the Visayas, and Surigao del Norte province and Siargao and Dinagat islands in Mindanao.

 

Seniang is expected to make landfall in Eastern Samar on Sunday. It is not expected to pass through areas ravaged by typhoon Durian, the PAGASA said.

 

The storm is the 19th to hit the country this year, coming on the heels of supertyphoon Durian, which ravaged the Bicol and Southern Luzon regions last week, leaving over 1,000 people dead or missing and thousands others homeless.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2006)