LPA may no longer become tropical depression - PAGASA

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) yesterday said that the active low-pressure area (ALPA) has eased up and might no longer become tropical depression “Enteng.”

“The ALPA has been downgraded to LPA due to its disorganized circulation. There is a lower possibility that it would become a tropical depression,” PAGASA forecaster Samuel Duran said.

However, Duran clarified that the low-pressure area would not dissolve and will continue to move in a northwest direction.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the LPA was said to be 450 kilometers east northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar.

Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao would experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, becoming cloudy with widespread rains over Bicol region, Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao that might trigger flashfloods and landslides.

The rest of Luzon would have partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast to north would prevail over Luzon and Eastern Visayas. Coastal waters along these areas would be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, winds would be light to moderate coming from the northwest to southwest with slight to moderate seas.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday that the local governments in Mindanao are ready for the possible effects of the low-pressure area that has just entered the country.

“The local governments are preparing and they have organized the local responders,” NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos said over radio dzBB.

He said among the critical areas are the Surigao provinces, Agusan provinces, and the cities of Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Ozamis and Dipolog.

“The residents there have experienced (floods),” Ramos said.

He advised local fishermen in these areas to avoid sailing to prevent accidents as NDRRMC goes on blue alert. A blue alert means half of disaster management personnel are on standby to mitigate impact of the weather disturbance.

Meanwhile, a total of 4,836 families or 22,714 persons have been affected by tropical storm “Dindo” (international name Doksuri), which left the country last June 29.

Most of the affected persons, 20,114 of them, were from Ilocos Norte while 1,275 were from La Union. NDRRMC said the storm also affected 1,325 persons in Valencia City, Bukidnon.

The storm did not leave any casualty but damaged P15.5 worth of infrastructure in the Ilocos region.   – With Alexis Romero