A low-pressure area (LPA) located east of the Philippines is expected to bring thunderstorms to the Visayas and other parts of the country within the next 24 hours, carrying risks of flooding and landslides, while tropical storm Dujuan is being monitored outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the state weather bureau said on Thursday.

The LPA is also likely to affect MIMAROPA, the Bicol Region, the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and Northern Mindanao, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 4:00 p.m. weather forecast.

PAGASA said the weather disturbance was last located 160 kilometers east of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, and was moving almost stationary. The rest of the country, meanwhile, is expected to be drenched by localized thunderstorms over the same period.

The bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides during moderate to occasional heavy rains and severe thunderstorms across all affected areas.

Outside the country's monitoring zone, PAGASA continues to track tropical storm Dujuan (international name), which was located 2,920 kilometers east of Northern Luzon, according to the agency's 4:00 p.m. storm outlook. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 115 kph.

PAGASA earlier said Dujuan is less likely to enter the PAR and directly affect the country during its duration. Residents in the affected regions, as well as those following Dujuan's path, can monitor the bureau's subsequent forecasts and official bulletins for updates on both weather systems.

For context, the PAR is the designated area within which PAGASA monitors tropical cyclones and issues official weather bulletins for the Philippines; disturbances that form within or enter the zone are assigned local names for warning purposes. PAGASA climatological records indicate that an average of about 20 tropical cyclones form within or enter the PAR each year, with activity most frequent during the second half of the year.

Geographically, MIMAROPA is an administrative region in southwestern Luzon comprising Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan, while the Bicol Region occupies the southeastern portion of Luzon. The Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM, and Northern Mindanao are regions on the southern island of Mindanao, and the Visayas is the central island group of the Philippine archipelago.

— Edg Adrian A. Eva, BusinessWorld

Source: BusinessWorld