Naga City 8:27 PM Dec 06 2014 - With center winds of 175 kph, Typhoon Ruby is still highly destructive but has been greatly downgraded from its former super typhoon status few days back. It is now only 85 kms away from land, located east of Oras, Eastern Samar or 115 kms northeast of Borongan City, Eastern Samar. Gusts up to 230 kph can still inflict serious damages as Ruby drifts generally westward at 12 kph.
In a few hours, Ruby is expected to hit land near the two northernmost towns of Eastern Samar -- Oras and Arteche -- between 8 PM - 12 midnight. It will then traverse the Samar Island through Sunday morning and shall emerge over the Samar Sea. From there, it will move along Ticao Island and Northern Masbate, and Romblon on its way towards Northern Mindoro through Monday morning.
Contributing to Ruby's expected gradual weakening are it's interaction with land masses of Eastern Visayas and Southern Bicol, entrainment of cold Northeast Monsoon and increased upper-level winds.
By Monday afternoon (Dec. 8), Ruby's 10-minute maximum sustained winds shall be reduced to 130 kph, according to Advance Intensity Forecast (AIF).