Alerts raised as 2 storms spawn rains

Weather forecasters raised flood alerts Wednesday over a wide section of western Luzon as Typhoon “Falcon” (international name: Chan-Hom) and Tropical Storm “Egay” (international name: Linfa), whipping up winds on both eastern and western sides of the country, enhanced monsoon rains.

By 2 p.m., The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised the highest red warning alert indicating serious flooding over Cavite and Laguna.

A yellow warning alert remained over Metro Manila, Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, Pampanga, Tarlac and Bulacan indicating flooding in low-lying areas.

Pagasa warned that southwest monsoon rains Thursday may still trigger flash floods and landslides in Metro Manila, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Mimaropa while Western Visayas will experience occasional rains.

Pagasa also raised the gale warning indicating very rough sea conditions in the seaboards of Luzon and Visayas. The weather bureau advised fishing boats and other small seacrafts not to venture out into the sea and alerted larger sea vessels to expect big waves.

Dams overflowing

Tropical Storm Egay exited from the Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday morning and headed in the direction of China.

Falcon, spotted Wednesday afternoon about 1,000 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Friday. Like Egay, Falcon will likely continue to enhance the southwest monsoon even after it exits the country’s boundaries. Packing maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 160 kph, Falcon may still intensify while at sea.

Meanwhile, two major dams in Luzon neared spilling level due to the heavy rains on Wednesday, prompting authorities to raise the red alert for preemptive evacuation in affected areas.

As of 5 p.m. the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City reached an elevation of 79.72 meters and was still rising due to intermittent rains.

Pagasa hydrometeorologist Edgar Dela Cruz said the dam may reach the overflow level of 80.15 meters by early Thursday.

“The continuing increase (in La Mesa Dam’s level) will cause excess water to overflow which is expected to affect low-lying areas along Tullahan River: North Fairview, Novaliches and the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) areas,” the Pagasa hydromet division warned.

The Ipo Dam breached the 101-meter spilling level in the afternoon, reaching 101.22 meters as of 5 p.m., and dam authorities informed Pagasa they may release excess water into the Angat River in Bulacan.

The rains replenished three dams including Angat Dam in Bulacan but four other dams continued to see their water levels decline.

180-meter mark

Angat Dam, which supplies most of Metro Manila’s water supply, still stood at a precarious 169.72 meters above sea level (masl) elevation as of Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities stopped releasing water for irrigation last month when the level fell below the 180-meter mark, and will be forced to limit releasing water for domestic use should the level go below 160 masl.

Pagasa warned that the rains may last only until August, since the prevailing El Nino will intensify into a strong one and result in reduced rainfall in most of the country from September to December.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that evacuees in northern Luzon from Tropical Storm Egay have returned to their homes.

Initial reports showed Tropical Storm Egay’s onslaught caused roads damage worth at least P4.25 million in the Cordillera Administrative Region.