Metro Manila now under Signal No. 1 as ‘Ofel’ cuts through Southern Luzon

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila was put under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 on Wednesday night as Tropical Depression Ofel started to cross Southern Luzon’s inland seas.

Ofel was located 55 kilometers northeast of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, or 35 kilometers south of Tayabas town in Quezon, according to the latest severe weather bulletin from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Despite making another landfall over Torrijos, Marinduque at around 7:45 p.m., Ofel maintained its strength, with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness reaching up to 55 kph.

It also sped up a bit, now moving west at a speed of 20 kph — which means that it may leave the Philippine area of responsibility by Friday afternoon.

But as of now, Ofel is seen to either make a northwestward or west-northwestward approach Wednesday night until Thursday morning, passing close to Batangas.

Signal No. 1 is also raised in the following areas:

• Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (Calabarzon)
• Bataan
• Calamian Islands
• Occidental Mindoro
• Oriental Mindoro
• Marinduque
• Romblon
• Camarines Norte
• Western portion of Camarines Sur (Cabusao, Libmanan, Pamplona, Pasacao, Sipocot, Lupi, Ragay, Del Gallego)
• Burias Island

Moderate to heavy rains from Wednesday night to Thursday night are expected over Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, the northern portion of Quezon, Aurora, Bataan, and Bulacan.

Light to moderate and sometimes heavy rains may also fall over Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, the rest of Central Luzon and Calabarzon due to combined effects of Ofel.

Rain showers, largely due to the southwest monsoon, or habagat, were also predicted over other parts of Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and most of Mindanao.

Pagasa warned of strong to near gale-force winds in areas under Signal No. 1 as Ofel passes near them.

Some gusts may also be experienced at the extreme Northern Luzon area, Aurora, and other coastal and mountainous areas of Northern Luzon, but that is because of the northeasterly surface wind flow.

As of this writing, a gale warning remained raised over the entire seaboard of Northern Luzon and Aurora as waves may reach heights of 2.5 meters to 4.5 meters, still brought by the northeasterly surface wind flow.

Flash floods and landslides may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall. Pagasa urged residents in affected areas to continue monitoring weather updates and coordinate with their local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Offices.

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