North Sulawesi Residents Are Asked By BMKG To Be Aware Of Extreme Weather Due To Surigae Storms

Illustration / BMKG

MANADO - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) expects North Sulawesi residents to be aware of the extreme weather caused by the strong tropical storm Surigae which has the potential to escalate into a typhoon.

"The strong tropical storm Surigae is still ongoing and its position is barely moving in the north of Papua, east of the Philippines," said the Bitung Meteorology Maritime Meteorology Station's Coordinator for Observation and Information, Ricky Daniel Aror, in Manado, quoted by Antara, Friday, April 16.

According to him, the average wind speed in the northern region of Sulawesi and its surroundings remains in the range of 8-20 knots and generally moves to the Northeast to the center of the storm circulation.

"Convective clouds containing rain are still forming in areas where air masses meet, namely in North Sulawesi, North Maluku and North Papua," he said.

Ricky added that the wave height category was occurring in the East Sulawesi Sea, the waters of the Sitaro Islands, Sangihe and Talaud, and the North Maluku Sea.

"The strong tropical storm Surigae is expected to develop into a typhoon on April 17, 2021. The wind speed in northern Sulawesi and its surroundings tends to increase gradually until its peak on April 18, 2021," he explained.

Furthermore, rain with light to moderate intensity and the potential for heavy rain will occur in the next week and the height of sea waves has increased to its peak on April 18, 2021.

BMKG hopes that the public will be aware of the heavy rain accompanied by lightning that can occur in the next few days.

In addition, be aware of strong winds and high waves that can even reach the high category (4.0 - 6.0 meters) in the eastern part of the Sulawesi Sea, the waters of the Sitaro, Sangihe and Talaud Islands, and the North Maluku Sea.

The community is also expected to be aware of the threat of coastal flooding that can occur at the same time as the tide phase, namely in the morning to noon and towards the evening.

"We hope the public will ensure that official information only comes from BMKG which is distributed through verified official communication channels," hoped Ricky.