Fair weather as ‘Nando’ exits

MTSAT ENHANCED-IR Satellite Image 5:32 a.m., 29 August 2013

MANILA, Philippines—Fair weather is expected to prevail over the entire country beginning Thursday as tropical storm “Nando” finally exits Philippine territory after almost a week, the weather bureau said on Wednesday.

The storm (international name Kong-Rey) had already passed Batanes Wednesday but the area was still experiencing stormy weather as Nando moved toward Okinawa, said chief forecaster Rene Paciente at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Thus, public storm signal No. 2, indicating 61 to 100 kilometer per hour winds, was still up over the Batanes group, and storm signal No. 1, indicating 45-60 kph winds, over the Calayan and Babuyan group.

Meanwhile, two tropical depressions have been spotted east and west of northern Luzon, but are still too far from the country’s area of responsibility, Paciente said.

Residents of areas under storm signal alerts, and those living in the provinces of Zambales and Bataan, and in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions, were warned of possible flash floods and landslides, while those in coastal areas under storm signal No. 2 have been alerted to possible storm surges

One man was killed and more than 2,000 people affected in the island town of Almagro in Samar because of the rains and flooding brought about by the southwest monsoon and Nando.

Fernando Briones, a 58-year-old fisherman drowned in a river in Barangay Talahid last Sunday while trying to take his banca to safety, said Reynaldo Tomamak, Almagro disaster operations officer.