Flash floods, landslides may greet 2010 in Visayas, Mindanao

Flash floods and landslides may greet Year 2010 in parts of the Visayas and Northern Mindanao on the first day of 2010, state weather forecasters said Thursday. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said this is due to the tail-end of a cold front affecting the Visayas. "Visayas and Northern Mindanao will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming widespread rains over Visayas which may trigger flashfloods or landslides. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," it said in its 5 p.m. bulletin Thursday. Pagasa also said a moderate to strong Northeasterly surface windflow is affecting Luzon. It said moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and coming from the East and Northeast over Eastern Mindanao. Coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, it added. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the Northeast with slight to moderate seas. Pagasa also alerted fishermen about strong to gale force winds over the seaboards of Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboard of Central Luzon. "Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves," it said. - HGS, GMANews.TV