Three areas in the Philippines were placed under tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) no. 2 as typhoon Betty (international name: Mawar) moves over the waters east of Cagayan. ![1-him-colored (3).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/mb-mkt-neo-prod-1-uploads/1_him_colored_3_11badd137d/1_him_colored_3_11badd137d.png) ###### Latest satellite image of typhoon Betty (PAGASA)
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Monday, May 29, raised wind signal no. 2 in Batanes, the eastern portion of Babuyan Islands, and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan. Residents of these areas were warned against gale-force winds that may bring minor to moderate threat to life and property within 24 hours. Signal no. 1 remained hoisted in the rest of Babuyan Islands, the rest of mainland Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, the northeastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, the northern and central portions of Aurora,  Polillo Islands, the northern portion of Catanduanes, the northeastern portion of Camarines Sur, and the northern portion of Camarines Norte. In a public weather forecast on Monday, PAGASA Weather Specialist Obet Badrina said they are not yet ruling out the possibility of raising Signal no. 3 "under the worst-case" scenario. The center of Betty was last detected 525 kilometers (km) east of Aparri, Cagayan, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kph and gustiness of up to 90 kph. It is moving northwestward at 20 kph. It may exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Friday evening, June 2 or Saturday early morning, June 3. **Expansion of tropical winds** Apart from moving closer to the Philippine landmass, typhoon Betty’s tropical winds have also expanded, forcing PAGASA to raise wind signals in additional areas. “Lumawak ang hangin na dala ni Betty kaya dumami ang areas na may Signal no. 1 (The winds brought by Betty have expanded that's why more areas were placed under Signal no. 1),” Badrina explained. Based on the latest forecast track, the weather disturbance will be closest to the Philippine landmass on Wednesday, May 31. **Monsoon rains** Beginning Tuesday, May 30, the cyclone-enhanced southwest monsoon may also unleash moderate to heavy rains  in the western portions of MIMAROPA and Western Visayas. This will prevail until Thursday, June 1, said Badrina. “Kapag sinabing habagat, hindi lang ‘yan ulan. May dalang hangin 'yan, [especially] sa kanlurang bahagi ng Luzon at Visayas gayundin sa hilagang bahagi ng Mindanao (When we say southwest monsoon, it's not just rain. There will also be winds, especially in the western parts of Luzon, Visayas, as well as the northern part of Mindanao),” he added.

Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/28/signal-no-2-now-up-in-3-ph-areas-due-to-typhoon-betty)