Expect more rains, says Pagasa

Friday’s driving rain in Metro Manila and parts of Luzon and the Visayas is a good measure of the weather outlook this weekend: More of the same.

“Expect more rain during the weekend,” said Aldczar Aurelio, forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

“The weather will be better on Monday,” Aurelio said. But it was too early to say whether rainy weather would persist throughout the month of December, he said.

Moderate-to-heavy rains lashed Metro Manila, Central and Southern Luzon, and parts of the Visayas on Friday, triggering pockets of flooding and causing traffic jams in urban areas.

Disaster officials confirmed two deaths from drowning in two towns in Catanduanes province in the Bicol region which has been experiencing rains since Monday.

According to Aurelio, the heavy rainfall is being spawned by La Niña and the northeasterly monsoon, or the amihan.

The cold and dry northeasterly winds (amihan) converged with moist and warm easterlies in the eastern section of the archipelago, bringing rains over parts of Luzon and the Visayas, Aurelio said.

La Niña, a weather phenomenon that brings unusually cold surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, is associated with extreme climatic changes, such as devastating rains and tropical cyclone activity.

It is the La Niña that has been driving the easterlies toward the archipelago and bringing heavier rains, Aurelio explained.

“For Metro Manila, the rainfall is caused by the amihan and La Niña, while in Visayas, it’s mainly La Niña,” he said.

Because of La Niña, most parts of the country especially the eastern sections, could experience near- to above-normal rainfall. Pagasa warned that the widespread rainfall could trigger flash floods and landslides.

Two casualties

Meanwhile, a low-pressure area, spotted 330 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa City has been bringing rains to Palawan province, Pagasa said.

The non-stop rains that began last Monday caused knee- to waist-deep flooding and the suspension of classes in most provinces in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces), Bicol and the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan provinces) regions.

Isidro Reyes, 41, was swept away by a swollen river in Virac, Catanduanes province, shortly before noon on Wednesday. His body was found on Thursday.

Aljio Villanueva, 74, of Panganiban, Catanduanes province, was on on board a small banca at 5 a.m. on Monday when he was carried away by a strong current and drowned in a deep part of the sea. His body was later found along the seashore of Barangay Antipolo in Bagamanoc town.

Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua ordered the suspension of classes in public elementary and high schools because of the continuous heavy rains.

In Oriental Mindoro province, Calapan City Mayor Paulino Leachon suspended classes in all levels and work in offices around the city because of heavy rains and rising floodwaters.

Sixteen other Oriental Mindoro towns were flooded. In Baco town, floodwaters rose to waist level in Barangay Alag and a landslide left a road impassable in Barangay Sta. Cruz.

In Romblon province, roads and rice fields in Barangay Tampayan in Magdiwang town were submerged in a knee-deep water.

12 barangays hit

In Negros Occidental province, at least 5,400 families were affected when floods hit 12 barangays in E. B. Magalona town last Thursday.

The municipal council declared the 12 barangays under a state of calamity to allow local officials to use calamity funds.

The worst hit was Barangay Tabigue where 900 families were affected by the floods, said E. B. Magalona Mayor David Albert Lacson.

The flooding was caused by continuous rain, which went on for about six hours from 6 a.m. on Thursday, Lacson said. He also blamed the poaching of timber in the hinterlands.

The water has subsided in almost all barangays, and the damage to agricultural crops is still being assessed, he said.

The mayor said reforestation efforts were being undertaken in the town, and a plan has been drawn up to dredge the shoreline in nine coastal barangays.

He said 13,000 tree seedlings were recently planted in Sitio Ronel, Barangay San Isidro in E.B. Magalona. With reports from Maricar Cinco, Madonna T. Virola, Fernan Gianan and Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon, and Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas