PAGASA: LPA threatens to bring floods, landslides to Visayas, Mindanao

A low-pressure area off Mindanao threatens to bring flash floods and landslides to parts of Visayas and Mindanao, state weather forecasters said on Tuesday. Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecaster Manny Mendoza also said the LPA still has a "50-50" chance of becoming a cyclone. "Sa kasalukuyan ay 50-50 ang chance niyan (maging bagyo). Pag tumama yan sa lupa mababasag yan. Sa kalupaan ng Mindanao walang nabubuong bagyo sa Mindanao. Pero kung ito lilihis ng Mindanao at lalabas ng Sulu Sea may posibilidad itong mabuong bagyo," Mendoza said in an interview on dzBB radio. (For now, its chances of becoming a cyclone are 50-50. If it makes landfall it will dissolve. But if it goes around the mainland and slips toward the Sulu Sea, there is a chance it will become a cyclone.) Should the LPA become a cyclone, it will be code-named "Amang," and would be the first cyclone in the country this year. Mendoza said the LPA is likely to dissolve as well if it moves north and encounters the winds of the northeast monsoon. However, he said even if the LPA does not become a cyclone, it will bring rains to Mindanao and Visayas. "Magpapaulan ito talaga sa Mindanao at Visayas (It will bring rains to Mindanao and Visayas)," he said. PAGASA's 5:00 a.m. bulletin said as of 2 a.m. on Tuesday, the LPA was estimated at 120 kilometers (km) southeast of Davao City. It added the northeast monsoon is prevailing over Luzon. "Visayas and Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rainshowers and thunderstorms which may trigger flash floods and landslides. Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with light rains," PAGASA said. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and from the Northeast and East over Eastern Mindanao. The coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the Northeast and East with slight to moderate seas. Meanwhile, PAGASA said strong to gale force winds are expected to affect the seaboards of Luzon and Visayas and the Eastern seaboard of Mindanao. It advised fishermen and small boats not to venture out to sea, and larger vessels to watch out for big waves. – VVP, GMANews.TV