LPA dissipates; good weather seen for Mindanao, Visayas

MANILA, Philippines - The low-pressure area that brought excessive rain over the Visayas and Mindanao for almost two weeks dissipated yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

PAGASA weather forecasting chief Rene Paciente said residents of the Visayas and Mindanao could expect good weather in the next three days, aside from isolated thunderstorms.

“Eastern Visayas and Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms,” he said.

Paciente said no weather disturbance was expected to affect the country until the weekend.

Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon will continue to bring rains over the eastern section of Luzon in the next few days.

He said strong to gale force winds associated with the surge of the northeast monsoon is still expected to affect the seaboards of Luzon and Eastern Visayas.

“Small seacraft and fishing vessels are advised not to venture out to the sea due to big waves generated by this weather system,” Paciente said.

The LPA, which at one point intensified into tropical depression Agaton, dumped above-normal rainfall in some parts of Visayas and eastern Mindanao since Jan. 10, triggering flashfloods and landslides that killed 50 people.

Field disaster reports said the fatalities came from the flood and landslide-stricken Caraga region, which as of yesterday had reported a total death count of 21 individuals, five missing and 27 injured.

The remaining 29 fatalities either died from drowning or were buried alive during landslides in their communities in Western and Northern Mindanao and Davao region.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga regional director Liza Mazo said hundreds of families from 13 villages in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte were evacuated to safer grounds following a series of landslides that hit their communities last week.

Despite the improving weather, weeks of heavy rains dumped by the low-pressure area and Agaton has affected 79,626 families of 388,075 persons from 418 affected barangays in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Province and Butuan City. – With Jaime Laude, Rainier Allan Ronda