Weather: Rains loom as potential cyclone leaves PHL

A potential cyclone - a shallow low-pressure area (SLPA) - moved away from Philippine territory early on Monday but state weather forecasters said rain still looms over parts of the country. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also warned of flash floods and landslides in parts of Extreme Northern Luzon. "Apektado pa rin tayo ng SLPA pero halos sa boundary na ito, papalabas na ng Philippine area of responsibility," PAGASA forecaster Jun Galang said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said there may still be rain over parts of the country, partly due to the inter-tropical convergence zone affecting Mindanao. Galang also said the SLPA may bring rain to Batanes and Calayan Islands, causing widespread rain that may trigger flash floods and landslides. PAGASA's 5:00 a.m. bulletin said the SLPA was estimated at 240 kilometers (km) west-northwest of Laoag City as of 2:00 a.m. "Batanes and Calayan Group of Islands will experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms which may trigger flash floods and landslides while the rest of Northern Luzon and the western section of Central and Southern Luzon, Western Visayas and Mindanao will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms," it said. PAGASA added the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the east will prevail over Extreme Northern Luzon and coming from the southwest to southeast over the rest of Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest to south with slight to moderate seas. Meanwhile, PAGASA said strong to gale-force winds associated with the surge of northeasterly surface windflow may affect the northern seaboard of Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboard of Luzon. "Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves," it said. NDRRMC on blue alert Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will be on blue alert amid the threat of flash floods and landslides on parts of Luzon. A report on dzBB radio quoted NDRRMC head Benito Ramos as saying this means 50 percent of NDRRMC personnel in flood-prone areas will be at their posts at any given time. - VVP, GMA News