Heavy rains in Visayas, Mindanao to continue

MANILA, Philippines - The low pressure area (LPA) in the south will continue to bring moderate to heavy rains in Mindanao and in major parts of Visayas for the next 24 hours, the state weather bureau said Monday.

In its public weather forecast, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was located in the vicinity of Surigao del Sur.

The agency said Mindanao, Eastern and Central Visayas will experience cloudy skies with moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

The Bicol region, Mimaropa and the rest of Visayas will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms while Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will be cloudy with isolated rains.

The weather bureau said in a rainfall advisory issued at 7 a.m. that moderate  to occasional heavy rains that may continue for two to three hours are affecting portions of Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan de Sur, Davao Oriental, Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

"Flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous areas," PAGASA said.

In an interview over radio dzMM, PAGASA weather forecaster Samuel Duran said the LPA maintained its location and the rains may continue until January 15.

He said the LPA can still intensify into a tropical cyclone, which will then be named "Agaton."

At least two men were reported missing and more than 2,400 people were evacuated over the weekend after two days of rains flooded low-lying villages and set off minor landslides in the southeastern part of the country.

The men went missing while separately crossing rivers in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte, said Liza Mazo, a regional disaster-response official.

She said heavy rains set off flooding in four provinces and on an island in the region, prompting army troops, police and local authorities to evacuate more than 2,400 villagers.

Many of those evacuated were in Butuan city, where the Agusan River threatened to overflow and inundate 15 low-lying villages, Mazo said.

Forecasters have said that the LPA has dumped rains in the remote region since Saturday, but they expect the weather to improve in about two days.

The stormy weather has also brought sporadic rains in the provinces in the Visayas where Typhoon "Yolanda" left more than 6,100 people dead and nearly 1,800 others missing in November.

The monster typhoon displaced about four million people and thousands continue to live in tents as the government scrambles to build temporary shelters. -with the Associated Press