at 23:30 UTC. The depression then entered the Sulu Sea on January 2. Despite the warm waters of the Sulu Sea, strong easterly upper-level winds kept thunderstorms to the northwest of the depression's low-level circulation center, thereby preventing intensification. The depression continued to be steered west by the subtropical ridge and made a sixth landfall near Aborlan, Palawan at 14:45 UTC on January 2. The system turned slightly northwards as it entered the South China Sea. At 00:00 UTC on January 3, the depression intensified into a tropical storm and was named Bolaven by the JMA. At that time, the system possessed maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph) and a central pressure of . Three hours later, Bolaven moved west-northwest out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Persistent wind shear and marginal sea surface temperatures, however, caused the system to degrade back to a depression by January 4. With no thunderstorm activity near the system's center, Bolaven dissipated as a tropical cyclone just off Vietnam's South Central Coast at 12:00 UTC on January 4. Effects Bolaven, known in the Philippines as Tropical Depression Agaton, was the third system to impact the Visayas and Mindanao since December 2017, after tropical storms Kai-tak (Urduja) and Tembin (Vinta). The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) began evacuations on December 30, 2017, with a total of 353 families evacuated from Zamboanga del Norte and Agusan del Sur. On January 1, 2018, Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal #1 was raised in 16 provinces of Mindanao, mostly in the Caraga and Davao Regions. Later that day, the warning area was expanded westwards to the Zamboanga Peninsula, six provinces in the Visayas, and Palawan. Three municipal government units in Bohol issued mandatory evacuation orders for their residents ahead of dangerous floods. The warning area shifted west away from Mindanao and towards Western Visayas on January 2, following the anticipated path of the storm. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) readied ₱704 million (US$ million) worth of funds and relief items for use. Sea vessels were barred from leaving Cebu province, stranding nearly 1,200 passengers; in total, port closures across the Philippines affected over 3,600 passengers. Bus trips in Negros Oriental were cancelled. In Misamis Oriental, 132 individuals were forced to evacuate because of flooding. Later on January 2, all signals in the Visayas were cancelled, signifying diminishing winds. However, dangers posed by