Monsoon rains to prevail in NCR, nearby areas–Pagasa

Vehicles navigate a flood-prone street as heavy rain pours in Manila on Aug. 12. Heavy rains snarled traffic around Metro Manila and stranded thousands of commuters. AP

Monsoon rains which may trigger flashfloods and landslides will persist over the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces, according to the state weather bureau.

In its 5 p.m. forecast on Saturday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said rains spawned by the habagat will be experienced in Metro Manila and in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas.

In Metro Manila, the Marikina River and La Mesa Dam in Quezon City were both placed on critical alert after nearing respective spilling levels, as local governments advised evacuation in the affected areas.

Pagasa said occasional rains would prevail over the rest of Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, the rest of Central Luzon, Mimaropa and Western Visayas.

“Cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms will be experienced over the rest of Luzon and Visayas while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms is expected over Mindanao,” Pagasa said.

“Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail throughout the archipelago and the coastal waters will be moderate to rough,” it added.

Moderate to heavy rains caused by the habagat resulted in floods different areas in the metropolis on Friday and Saturday.