Agaton weakens but may still bring heavy rain over Visayas — Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression Agaton may continue to weaken over the coming hours, but the state weather bureau warned on Monday afternoon that it may still cause moderate to heavy rains over different parts of Visayas and Bicol Region.

Weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed Agaton still located in the vicinity of Basey, Samar, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 60 kph.

Pagasa said Agaton is almost stationary, although it is expected to start moving east by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.  This means moderate to heavy rains, with at times intense rains may be felt over the following areas on Tuesday:

• Eastern Visayas
• Capiz
• Aklan
• Iloilo
• Antique
• northern portions of Negros provinces
• northern portion of Cebu including Bantayan Islands and Camotes Islands

Meanwhile, light to moderate with at times heavy rains may be felt in the following areas:

• Sorsogon
• Masbate
• rest of Visayas

As of 5:00 p.m. of Monday, the following areas are under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1:

Luzon:

• southern portion of Masbate (Dimasalang, Palanas, Cataingan, Pio V. Corpuz, Esperanza, Placer, Cawayan)

Visayas:

Eastern Samar, Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, the northeastern portion of Cebu (Daanbantayan, San Remigio, Medellin, City of Bogo, Tabogon, Borbon, Sogod, Catmon, Carmen, Danao City, Compostela, Liloan) including Camotes Island, and the eastern portion of Bohol (Getafe, Talibon, Bien Unido, Trinidad, Ubay, San Miguel, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia, Mabini)

Mindanao:

Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands

“So nakikita po natin sa ating scenario ngayon hanggang bukas ay magiging maulan pa rin sa malaking bahagi po ng Kabisayaan at ng Southern Luzon area [In what we are seeing, tomorrow will be rainy in parts of the Visayas and Southern Luzon area],” weather specialist Ana Clauren said.

Pagasa warned areas mentioned that strong winds and rains may lead to either flash floods or landslides, saying that people living in disaster-prone areas must evacuate for safety.

“Dahil sa malakas na mga pag-ulan na ating inaasahan, pinapayuhan natin ‘yong mga kababayan natin na lumikas po lalo na ‘yong mga nakatira sa low-lying areas at sa mga bulubunduking lugar [Because of expected rains, peoples in low-lying areas must evacuate to safety],” Clauren noted.

Pagasa also stressed that a gale warning is still raised over coastlines under Signal No. 1, as there is a risk that waves may reach heights of 2.8 meters to 4.5 meters.

RELATED STORY:

Pagasa: ‘Agaton’ weakens into tropical depression; Signal No. 1 in 11 areas

JPV