Threat to pope: Storm Amang

MANILA, Philippines - A low-pressure area intensified into a tropical depression yesterday as it continued to move closer to the country’s eastern seaboard, threatening to bring rains and gusty winds particularly in areas to be visited by Pope Francis later this week.

Rene Paciente, senior weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the disturbance is forecast to enter the Philippine area of responsibility tomorrow and will be locally named Amang.

He said the low-pressure area may intensify into a storm before it enters the Philippine area of responsibility.

Paciente said the weather disturbance has a big chance of hitting landmass, noting that cyclones that enter the country during this time of the year are “landfalling.”

“It is expected to make landfall either in Bicol, Eastern Visayas or Northern Mindanao,” Paciente said.

Pope Francis, who is scheduled to arrive in Manila tomorrow, will a mass in Tacloban City and have lunch with survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Palo, Leyte on Saturday.

Tacloban City is the area severely devastated by Yolanda in November 2013.

Authorities in Tacloban and Palo said contingency measures have been set up in case of bad weather.

Fr. Chris Militante, information officer of the archdiocese of Palo, said should there be heavy rains during the pope’s visit, “the motorcade and other stops will be cancelled.”

“The pope will say mass, then fly away,” he said.

Meanwhile, a worst case scenario would be the total cancellation of the pope’s visit to Tacloban City and Palo.

“We will abide by the decision of the national committee on the papal visit,” Militante said.

The church has called on the faithful to start praying the Oratio Imperataor the prayer for deliverance from calamities.

Significant factors

But Paciente said the prevailing northeast monsoon or the cold and dry air from China and Siberia could affect the weather disturbance’s movement and intensification.

“The northeast monsoon could prevent the disturbance from further intensifying,” he said.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the tropical depression was located at 1,690 kilometers east of Mindanao. It packed winds of 55 kilometers per hour and was forecast to move west at 19 kph.

The state weather bureau advised Catholic devotees who will attend the outdoor masses with Pope Francis in Tacloban and Manila this weekend to brace for rains with occasional gusty winds due to the approaching weather disturbance.

Paciente said light rains will prevail over Metro Manila today until Saturday, while mrains with moderate to occasionally strong winds will affect the capital on Sunday.

Pope Francis will officiate a mass at the Rizal Park in Manila on Sunday and is scheduled to return to Rome on Jan. 19.

Mobile radar

Meanwhile, PAGASA sent its newly acquired mobile radar to Tacloban City yesterday to better predict the weather conditions during Pope Francis’ visit to the province on Saturday.

PAGASA’s Doppler radar in Guiuan, Eastern Samar was destroyed by Yolanda when it made landfall over the area on Nov. 8, 2013. - With Lalaine Jimenea, Sheila Crisostomo