By Alexandria Dennise San Juan
The low-pressure area east of Batanes intensified into a tropical depression and was named “Florita” yesterday.
Florita further intensified into a tropical storm, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said.
As of yesterday morning, Florita was 860 kilometer east of Basco, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometer per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 65 kph, moving northwest at 11 kph.