Hanna out, but monsoon rain persists

MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Hanna has exited the Philippine area of responsibility but will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains in many areas in the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

PAGASA said the eye of Hanna (international name Haikui) was located at 360 kilometers northwest of Itbayat, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 120 kms. per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 165 kph as it moves north-northwestward at 15 kph.

“The southwest monsoon currently enhanced by Typhoon Hanna will bring rains over the western portion of Luzon in the next three days,” PAGASA said.

According to the state weather bureau, Hanna will slowly move west northwestward over the Taiwan Strait while gradually weakening.

“It is forecast to make landfall over the coast of Guangdong or Fujian, China (Tuesday) morning or afternoon as a severe tropical storm. Rapid weakening will ensue as the tropical cyclone moves further inland over Guangdong, China,” it added.

At a press briefing, PAGASA weather forecaster Obet Badrina said the weather bureau is currently monitoring cloud clusters in Northern Luzon.

“This (cloud clusters) is not yet a low-pressure area, but we will continue to monitor. We are not discounting the possibility that it will develop into a low-pressure area in the next few days,” Badrina said.

He said the enhanced southwest monsoon will continue to bring rains in many areas in Northern Luzon, particularly the Ilocos region, as well as Central Luzon, Bataan, Zambales, Metro Manila, certain areas in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and portions of Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).

“Strong rains will persist in Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Nueva Ecija, Cavite, Batanes and many parts of Calabarzon,” Badrina added.

He said that by Wednesday, the concentration of rains will be in the Ilocos, Zambales and Bataan.

“The rains brought by the enhanced southwest monsoon will decrease significantly, particularly in the western section of Luzon, once Typhoon Hanna makes landfall over the coast of Guangdong, China,” Badrina said.

PAGASA said a gale warning is in effect for the seaboards of Northern Luzon, western and southern seaboards of Luzon and the western seaboard of Visayas.

Damage to agriculture

Heavy rainfall due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by typhoons Goring and Hanna over the past several days has caused damage to agriculture reaching more than P584.7 million.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Western Visayas was most affected, with damage reaching P356.1 million as of Sept. 4.

Cagayan Valley also sustained heavy losses to agriculture currently at P192.6 million, followed by Mimaropa at P29.6 million and Central Luzon with P5.7 million.

The NDRRMC said these include crop area damage, damage to infrastructure, machinery and equipment and overall production losses.

Heavy rains, flooding and other related incidents left at least two persons dead in Western Visayas and the Cordilleras, and one reported missing also in Western Visayas.

The NDRRMC said a total of 140,101 families or 514,153 persons have been affected by the monsoon rains in eight different regions including Metro Manila.

Of the number, 915 families or 3,251 persons are still staying in 52 different evacuation centers in affected Luzon and Visayas provinces.

The NDRRMC said a total of 1,349 damaged houses were reported in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and the Cordilleras.

In Pampanga, at least 48 barangays are still flooded due to continuous rains, disaster authorities reported yesterday. – Ramon Efren Lazaro, Ric Sapnu, Cesar Ramirez, Rudy Santos