Mindanao, Eastern Visayas warned: More heavy rains

MTSAT ENHANCED IR Satellite Image for 1 a.m., 4 January 2012

A low pressure area (LPA) off General Santos City threatens to bring heavy rain as early as Wednesday over Mindanao, which is still reeling from the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm “Sendong” that left more than 1,200 people dead and hundreds missing.

But weather forecasters said Tuesday that the LPA had little chance of intensifying into a tropical depression.

The LPA was spotted 550 kilometers east southeast of General Santos City, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its 5 p.m. bulletin Tuesday.

Forecaster Fernando Cada said the LPA would blanket Eastern Visayas and Mindanao with cloudy skies coupled with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.

Cada said widespread rains that could spawn flash floods and landslides could hit Eastern and Southern Mindanao.

The weather system was forecast to dump 10 millimeters of rainfall, equivalent to heavy rainfall. It, however, has a slim chance of intensifying into a tropical depression because its “cloudiness is distorted and it has lost its circulation,” Cada said.

“Based on climate models, there’s a small probability that it will form into a tropical depression,” he said by phone. “It might dissipate.”

This LPA was different from the LPA that developed east southeast of General Santos last Saturday and later dissolved.

LPAs have been developing over Mindanao because of the convergence of the northeast monsoon with the winds from the east, forming clouds that drift southward toward the area.

The northeast monsoon is expected to bring cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms over Eastern Visayas, and partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms over Luzon, including Metro Manila.

Warning

In General Santos City, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) has warned of widespread rains over Eastern and Southern Mindanao that may cause flash floods and landslides due to the LPA.

The warning by RDRRMC Deputy Director Jerome Barranco was directed particularly at those living along riverbanks or near landslide-prone areas.

Barranco also warned fishers, including operators of small sea craft, not to sail at this time due to turbulent seas.

The city disaster council said it had alerted residents along the shore and riverbanks to prepare for possible evacuation once heavy rains start to fall.

Ephraim Beliran, the city disaster council action officer, told reporters that the city government had been warning residents in flood-prone villages to be prepared.

He said the city government had provided relocation sites for informal settlers from danger zones.

Beliran added that the city government had a standby rescue team ready to respond anytime during emergencies.

Eastern Visayas

In Tacloban City, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) for Eastern Visayas urged local government units (LGUs) to brace for possible adverse effects of the LPA.

Rey Gozon, acting regional director of the OCD, said on Tuesday that the LPA, while projected not to hit directly Eastern Visayas, might bring in more rains that could result in flooding or landslide.

“That is why we have alerted all our local government units through their respective local risk reduction management councils to be on alert,” said Gozon, who is also the chairman of the RDRRMC.

He said the LGUs had to identify their evacuation centers and prepare like foodstuff and rescue facilities.

Eastern Visayas, most especially Leyte, experienced massive flooding spawned by Sendong that pummeled Northern Mindanao, especially the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, on December 17.

The flooding that hit Leyte province resulted in the displacement of more than 10,000 families, consisting of more than 53,000 people. Two persons were killed, one was missing and seven others were injured.

Proactive

Gozon said he was glad that some LGUs in the region were preparing to activate local disaster councils. “There is now an inclination among our local government units to be proactive,” he said.

In Tacloban City, for example, Mayor Alfred Romualdez has a standing order to convert barangay (village) halls and public schools into evacuation centers in case of flooding or typhoon, while the city social welfare office is ready to provide food assistance to affected families. With reports from Aquiles Z. Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao; and Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas