It continued to lose in strength while tracking towards the Sulu Sea by the next day at 03:00 UTC.[35][36] A new eye also struggled to form as the system was nearing landfall.[37] By 07:10 UTC (15:10 PHT), the system made another and last landfall over Roxas, Palawan as it continued to weaken in intensity.[38] It then entered the South China Sea with more organization but its intensity remaining the same.[39] Rai then started to slightly strengthen as it turned northwestwards, away from the Philippine archipelago.[40][41] The system then left the PAR by 12:40 PHT (04:40 UTC).[42] For the first time since Typhoon Rammasun in 2014 and the third after Pamela of 1954 and the aforementioned storm, Rai unexpectedly attained Category 5 status in the South China Sea due to the favorable environment in that region at 21:00 UTC of December 18 as it underwent a secondary period of rapid intensification.[43]