LPA Hits Palawan, Brings Thunderstorm Risk to Seven Areas as Severe Tropical Storm Dujuan Lingers
Key Takeaways
- •A low pressure area situated over Dumaran, Palawan is currently crossing the province, according to PAGASA weather specialist Leanne Loreto.
- •PAGASA forecast thunderstorms over the Visayas, MIMAROPA and the Bicol Region within 24 hours, with the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Batangas and Quezon also expected to be affected.
- •The weather bureau cautioned that moderate to occasionally heavy rains could cause flash floods and landslides in areas hit by the LPA.
- •The LPA is projected to dissipate, and the number of affected areas may decrease within the next 24 hours.
- •Severe tropical storm Dujuan, carrying maximum sustained winds of 110 kph and gusts of up to 135 kph, intensified but is not expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility.
A low pressure area (LPA) is affecting Palawan and bringing thunderstorms to seven areas, posing a risk of flash floods and landslides as severe tropical storm Dujuan remains under the watch of the state weather bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Friday.
"The LPA was located over Dumaran, Palawan and is currently traversing Palawan," Leanne Loreto, weather specialist at PAGASA, said in a 5:00 a.m. press briefing delivered in Filipino.
In a separate 4:00 a.m. weather advisory, PAGASA said the LPA is likely to cause thunderstorms in the Visayas, MIMAROPA and the Bicol Region over the next 24 hours. It is likewise expected to affect the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Batangas and Quezon. Taken together, the seven areas span all three of the country's main island groups — Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
The bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides during moderate to occasionally heavy rains. MIMAROPA comprises the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.
Ms. Loreto said the LPA is expected to dissipate, and the number of affected areas may decrease within the next 24 hours. Changes to that list within the 24-hour window would be communicated through PAGASA's advisories and briefings, the channels through which the bureau issued Friday's outlook.
Meanwhile, PAGASA continues to monitor severe tropical storm Dujuan, which was last located 2,460 kilometers east-northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon, based on the agency's press briefing. The storm intensified, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 135 kph.
"We are no longer expecting it to enter our area of responsibility, and it is not expected to affect the country," Ms. Loreto said.
The Philippines sits along the Western Pacific's tropical cyclone corridor and typically records around 20 tropical cyclones entering its area of responsibility each year, many of which develop from low pressure areas — the category of weather disturbance now crossing Palawan under PAGASA monitoring.
— Edg Adrian A. Eva, BusinessWorld
This article was originally published by BusinessWorld.
