'Pedring' enters Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical storm “Pedring” (international name: Nesat) has entered the country and is expected to make landfall along the extreme part of Northern Luzon on Wednesday, the weather bureau said yesterday.

Weather Forecasting Center chief Robert Sawi said Pedring entered the Philippine area of responsibility between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. yesterday.

At 4 p.m., the center of the storm was estimated to have been at 1,030 kilometers east-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, with a speed of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It is moving west-northwest at 19 kph.

Sawi said the storm can still intensify into a typhoon.

“It is still far from the country above the Philippine Sea. We know that the sea is its source region so it could still gather strength and become a typhoon,” he said.

As of yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the weather disturbance was still too far away to directly affect any part of the country.

Sawi, however, said provinces along the eastern seaboard - Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quezon, and those in the Bicol region - will begin to feel its presence either by tomorrow or Tuesday. The entire country will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. Light to moderate winds blowing from northeast to east will prevail over Northern Luzon where coastal waters will be slight to moderate.

Elsewhere, moderate to strong winds blowing from southwest to west will prevail while seas will be moderate to rough.

PAGASA said it is not certain when Pedring would leave the country, but if it maintains its west-northwest course and its speed, it may be out of the Philippine area of responsibility by Friday and on its way to southern China.

Pedring is expected to be at 890 kilometers east of Baler, Aurora by this afternoon, 510 kilometers east northeast of Baler, Aurora by tomorrow afternoon, and 120 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City on Tuesday.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it has been coordinating with local government units in the provinces that will be affected by the storm.

Lt. Commander Algier Ricafrente of the PCG said, however, they cannot stop fishermen from sailing out to sea because there is still no public storm signal declared. It can only issue an early warning.

Ricafrente said small fishing boats only linger at sea for a few hours.“They leave the shoreline in the morning and would return within the day. It is the big fishing boats that go out far into the sea and would return in about three days,” he said.   Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to pre-position rescue vehicles in anticipation of the storm.

Salceda said M-35 trucks from the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade and the Naval Forces for Southern Luzon have already been readied for deployment in Oas, Libon, Polangui and Malinao towns.

“Albay is under a state of monitoring and pre-positioning for Pedring,” said Salceda said in an e-mail sent to The STAR yesterday morning. He is worried that the large rain band of the storm could trigger “phenomenal” rains and worsen the situation of communities affected by typhoon “Juaning,” which particularly ravaged Malinao and caused massive flooding in the third district.     Salceda has also ordered Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Security and Emergency Management Office, to update evacuation plans for communities at risk of being affected by flashfloods, landslides, and mudflows. - With Celso Amo