Tropical Storm Verbena Intensifies to Typhoon After Exiting PH

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Storm Verbena, known internationally as Koto, intensified into a typhoon early Thursday, November 27, after exiting the Philippine area of responsibility and passing north of the Kalayaan Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration reported that Verbena's maximum sustained winds reached 140 kilometers per hour with gusts up to 170 kph as of 11 a.m. Thursday. The storm's center was located approximately 255 kilometers north of Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan, Palawan, moving west-northwestward at 15 kph. It had left the Philippine area of responsibility around 12:50 a.m. that day but continued to influence weather in the region.

Prior to its exit, Verbena made seven landfalls across the country, starting as a tropical depression on November 24 and strengthening into a tropical storm by its final approach. The storm first hit Bayabas in Surigao del Sur at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, followed by Jagna in Bohol at 11:10 p.m. that day. On Tuesday morning, it struck Talisay City in Cebu at 2:40 a.m., Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental at 5:50 a.m., San Lorenzo in Guimaras at 7:40 a.m., and Miagao...