Tropical storm "Xangsane" strengthened Tuesday morning, prompting the state weather bureau to raise Public Storm Warning Signal over areas in central Philippines.

As of 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) placed Xangsane at 220 kilometers east northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar and traveling northwest at seven kilometers per hour.

The storm will veer westward before making landfall over Aurora province on Thursday. It will then cut across central Luzon and exit over the South China Sea, the weather bureau said.

PAGASA said Eastern Visayas will experience stormy weather and coastal waters along will be rough to very rough. The rest of the Visayas and the Bicol region will experience rains and gusty winds with moderate to rough seas.

The rest of the country will be cloudy with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms, mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes were alerted to the possibility of flash floods and landslides, forecasters said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2006)