Heavy evening rains endanger Central Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – Central Luzon was warned of heavy rains that might occur on Monday night due to rains spawned by the southwest monsoon enhanced by the tropical storm “Maring.”

In a press briefing Monday afternoon, Esperanza Cayanan, officer in charge of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in the National Capital Region, said that “there’s a possibility” of heavy rains Monday night in Central Luzon.

She added that the rains in Luzon have “breaks” in between even if they are heavy.

Central Luzon was recently battered by typhoon Labuyo (international name Utor).

In Pagasa’s weather bulletin at 5p.m., the prevailing southwest monsoon was affecting the whole country.

The storm remained almost stationary at 580 kilometers east of Itbayat, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 90 kph.

It is forecast to move east at 7 kph.

“Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Panay Island and the provinces of Benguet, and Occidental Mindoro will experience monsoon rains which may trigger flashfloods and landslides. Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, the rest of Luzon and Visayas will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms,” Pagasa said in the weather bulletin.

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