'Egay' to rain on Jose Rizal's 150th birthday parades

(Updated 8:30 a.m.)It will be a wet historical milestone, at least for Luzon residents celebrating Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th birthday Sunday. State weather forecasters raised Storm Signal No. 1 over 14 Luzon provinces, including Polillo Island, as tropical depression "Egay" headed northwest at a pace of 17 kilometers per hour (kph) and with maximum winds of 55 kph near its center. The storm is expected to be near Tuguegarao City by Sunday evening. Egay was last spotted 170 kilometers southeast of Casiguran, Aurora, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 5 a.m. Sunday bulletin. PAGASA said the tropical depression is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon, affecting the western side of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon and the Visayas, and likely raining on celebrations marking the 150th birth anniversary of national hero Rizal. Sunday is also Fathers' Day. In its 5 a.m. advisory, PAGASA said Egay was 170 km east-southeast of Casiguran, Aurora as of 4 a.m. Sunday. PAGASA said Egay is expected to be 50 km northwest of Aparri, Cagayan, and 280 km Northwest of Basco, Batanes or at 120 km west of Southern Taiwan by Tuesday morning. Under Storm Signal No. 1 are:

• Polillo Island
• Quezon Province
• Aurora
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Ifugao
• Mt. Province
• Isabela
• Cagayan
• Calayan group of Islands
• Babuyan group of Islands
• Kalinga
• Abra
• Apayao
• Ilocos Norte

“These [areas] will experience rains with gusty winds and with moderate to rough seas," PAGASA said. Stranded The Philippine Coast Guard’s 11 p.m. Saturday report said at least 492 people remained stranded in ports in Bicol, Southern Luzon and Central and Eastern Visayas. It said these included 250 in Pilar, 110 in Tabaco, 54 in Bulan, 35 in Sabang in Bicol; and 18 in Tacloban in Eastern Visayas. Also stranded were 25 trucks, four cars, 10 buses, eight cargoes, 12 bancas; and nine vessels and eight motor bancas taking shelter. — GMA News