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MANILA, Philippines – No tropical cyclone is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) until next week, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
“Based on the tropical cyclone threat potential forecast we released, we are not expecting any tropical cyclones after [Tropical Depression] Querubin, at least until next week,” Pagasa Deputy Administrator for Research and Development Marcelino Villafuerte said in a press conference on Wednesday.
According to Pagasa’s outlook for December, it is expecting one to two tropical cyclones. “With Querubin already in the picture, the likelihood of having another one is now low,” he added.
READ: 1 to 2 cyclones may enter PAR in December
However, Pagasa still warned the public of heavy rainfall across many parts of the country over the next three days due to Querubin and its interaction with the shear line.
“Our forecast for the next three days shows that Eastern Visayas, a large part of Southern Luzon, and almost the entirety of Visayas will experience rainy weather,” Pagasa Deputy Administrator for Operations & Services Juanito Galang said during the press conference.
“We would like to remind everyone that even if Tropical Cyclone Querubin weakens into a low-pressure area, its interaction with the shear line will intensify rainfall,” he added.
Galang also noted that an orange rainfall warning was issued for Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Norte from Wednesday until Saturday noon.
Areas under orange rainfall warning will see heavy to intense rains ranging from 100 to 200 millimeters, based on Pagasa’s heavy rainfall outlook.
Sorsogon, Biliran, and Leyte will also experience heavy to intense rains from Thursday until Saturday noon, the state weather bureau said.
“So for potential landslides and flooding, let’s remain vigilant, especially in mountainous areas such as Albay, Samar provinces, Leyte, and Catanduanes,” Galang said in Filipino.
In a separate bulletin, Pagasa reported that Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 was raised over Surigao del Sur due to Querubin.
Querubin was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) and a gustiness of up to 55 kph, while moving north-northeast at 10 kph.
READ: Querubin maintains strength, Signal No. 1 in Surigao del Sur