Flashfloods, landslides alert up as 'Helen' brings more rain

 MANILA, Philippines - The state-run weather bureau on Tuesday warned that provinces in northern Luzon will experience stormy weather while those in the extreme northern Luzon will have rains with gusty winds.

"ISabela and Cagayan will experience stormy weather while Extreme Northern Luzon, Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mt. Province and Abra will have rains with gusty winds and the coastal waters along these areas will be rough to very rough," the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

The rest of Luzon and western Visayas, meanwhile, will have experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rainshowers and thunderstorms which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

It added that on Thursday morning the storm is expected to be 160 kilometers north northwest of Laoag City ot 230 kilometers west southwest of Basco, Batanes. On Friday morning, the storm is estimated to be 470 kilometers northwest of Laoag City.

Signal No. 2 is declared over Isabela and Cagayan, and signal No. 1 over Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Viscaya, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Babuyan, Calayan Group of Islands, and Batanes Group of Islands.

"Residents living in low lying and mountainous areas under public storm warning signal numbers 2 and 1 are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas under public storm warning 2 are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone," PAGASA said.

The storm is also expected to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rains over Luzon and Visayas especially over the Western section.

Estimated rainfall amount is from 15 to 35 mm per hour or heavy to torrential rainfall within 600 kilometers diameter of tropical storm.

Central and southern Luzon, on the other hand, are experiencing light to moderate rains to more frequnt moderate to heavy rains. These areas are Camarines provinces, Quezon province, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Metro Manila.

Fishing boats and small sea vessels are told to stay away from seaboards of central and southern Luzon and Visayas.