Heavy rain predicted in eastern sections of Philippines on Christmas Day

MANILA, Philippines—Folks in the eastern parts of the archipelago face heavy rain on Christmas Day.

The weather bureau has forecast moderate to heavy rain for the eastern sections of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao on Sunday, with this warning: “Watch out for landslides and flashfloods.”

“It’s going to be a wet Christmas in those areas,’’ forecaster Aldczar Aurelio of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, or Pagasa, said in an interview.

The rainfall should not be taken lightly in the absence of a cyclone because this could trigger floods and loosen mountain slopes, he said.

A combination of the northeast monsoon, its convergence with winds from the east or easterlies, and La Niña are bringing the rainfall, and the provinces facing the Pacific Ocean will be the first to get hit, Aurelio said.

“We’re talking here of Cagayan, Isabela, and the Bicol Region all the way to the Surigao provinces,’’ he said.

Cagayan and Isabela had reportedly experienced pockets of flooding early this week because of rain induced by the northeast monsoon, which is sweeping the main island of Luzon with cold and dry air from Siberia.

On Christmas Day, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, as well as the rest of Visayas and Mindanao will be mostly cloudy, with rainshowers and thunderstorms.

The seas off Luzon and eastern Visayas would be too rough for fishing because of the moderate to strong northeast winds.

Rainfall occurs year-round in the eastern sections of the archipelago but peaks between November and February, the so-called rainy season. And this is going to be enhanced by La Niña, climatologists said.

Landslides similar to the one that buried the village of Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte, on Feb. 17, 2006, culd hit any of these areas because of intense rainfall, climatologist Rosalina de Guzman said in an earlier interview.

A weak La Niña is expected to strengthen between now and February next year, and could last until May or June, said Flaviana Hilario, Pagasa deputy administrator for research, citing global models.

She added that from December this year to May next year, between one and six tropical cyclones are expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility.