Odette moves away but heavy rains to continue

MANILA, Philippines - Super Typhoon Odette (international name Usagi) left the country Saturday night but it will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon, bringing rains over some parts of the country until Wednesday, the sate weather bureau said.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather forecaster Aldzar Aurelio yesterday said light to heavy rains would persist in the next three days over the western section of the Visayas and Luzon, including Metro Manila, as well as Mimaropa and Calabarzon.

Yesterday, the monsoon rains flooded parts of Metro Manila.

PAGASA raised a yellow rainfall alert over Metro Manila, Cavite, Pampanga, Rizal, Bulacan and portions of Batangas and Laguna at 3:05 p.m. yesterday.

Under a yellow rainfall warning, moderate to occasionally heavy rains may be experienced for the next three hours.

Moderate to heavy with occasional intense rainfall were also experienced in Bataan and Zambales yesterday.

Odette was spotted 320 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes, as of 4 a.m. yesterday, with maximum sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph.

It was forecast to move west northwest at 19 kph.

The typhoon is expected to be 720 km northwest of Itbayat or in the vicinity of Hong Kong this morning.

Odette, the strongest typhoon to hit the country so far this year, battered Northern Luzon areas over the weekend.

At least two people were reported dead while two others were missing due to the onslaught of Odette, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Close to 20,000 persons in five regions were also affected by Odette.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the 19,788 affected persons were based in Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan, Central Luzon and Mimaropa regions.

A C-130 Hercules is due to arrive in Batanes this morning to assess the damage caused by Odette.

Batanes was hit hard by the typhoon and the NDRRMC operations center lost contact with the province’s disaster officials.

Meanwhile, a new tropical cyclone spotted over the Pacific Ocean was not expected to affect the country in the next few days, PAGASA said.