Rains seen in Mindanao, Visayas due to LPA

MANILA, Philippines—Moderate to heavy rains were seen over Mindanao and Visayas due to a low pressure area and the tail-end of the cold front affecting the two regions, the weather bureau said Monday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said warnings of flash floods and landslides from the rains have been raised over the affected provinces that saw rains since the weekend.

As of 8 a.m. Monday, the low pressure area was spotted in the vicinity of Cotabato City.

Aldczar Aurelio, a Pagasa forecaster, said the LPA has brought widespread rains in Mindanao. He noted that the weather system would dump 5-15 mm of rains per hour. “This is moderate to heavy rains,” he said.

Rains were seen over the Surigao provinces, Misamis Provinces, Davao Provinces and Cotabato Provinces. The weather in the region is expected to start clearing by Tuesday as the LPA moves westward.

The Visayas region would not escape the rains, too. According to Aurelio, heavy clouds brought by the tail end of the cold front have blanketed the region.

As such, the Leyte Provinces, Cebu, Bohol, Negros Provinces would experience widespread rains, he said.

Luzon, on the other hand, would be mostly cloudy with light precipitation. The dominant weather system in the region is the northeast monsoon.

Gale warnings over the waters of Luzon and eastern Visayas remained. According to the Pagasa, the seas in Luzon and eastern Visayas would be rough to very rough. Small fishing vessels were advised not to head out to the sea, while larger ships were warned of big waves.

Pagasa said it has not sighted any tropical cyclone that would threaten the Philippines in the next few days.