Rains expected in Cebu this week as typhoon ‘Ferdie’ enters PH

THE public are encouraged to prepare their rain gear and umbrellas as the weather bureau forecasts cloudy weather this week.

Meo Aguirre, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Visayas (Pag-asa Visayas) weather specialist, said yesterday that rainshowers and thunderstorms during the evening would be expected to persist in Cebu within the week, with high chances of rain predicted for Monday and Tuesday as typhoon “Ferdie” (international name: Meranti) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) yesterday.

Aguirre said in a phone interview that when Ferdie would be expected to enhance the “habagat” in the Visayas around Thursday, the day when it would also be expected to leave the country.

“Bale ang iyaha ani, layo man ni sa atoa. Mogawas ni siya sa PAR by Thursday. Igmodikit ni siya sa Northern Luzon, ana nga time medyo apektado ang atong side ana kay ma-enhance ang habagat. By Thursday, dako ug chances nga kaning Western Visayas mag-uwan ni sila ug kusog-kusog tungod sa enhanced nga habagat (The weather disturbance is far from Cebu. It will exit PAR by Thursday. When it would be nearer in Northern Luzon, there are big chances that there would be heavy rains in Western Visayas because of the enhanced south wind), said Aguirre.

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin, the Pagasa, said “Ferdie” was plotted at 1,280 km east of Casiguran, Aurora, and forecast to move west northwest at 22 km per hour.
The typhoon has maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

Pagasa said cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms are expected over Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, and Palawan.

Pagasa earlier said “Ferdie” was expected to exit PAR on Thursday, 625 kilometers northwest of Itbayat, Batanes.

Aguirre said that this is the second typhoon of the month, with two more expected to enter the country before September is over. However, he pointed out that this could not yet be attributed to La Nina as no update on the phenomenon for this month has yet been released.

Cebu City Dave Tumulak, Cebu City Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) chief, told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview yesterday, that despite Pag-asa’s forecast of the typhoon not affecting Cebu, they would still be on alert if rains would occur and look out for possible landslides.

“We will place responders on alert of any possible landslides because of the presence of habagat in the Visayas,” Tumulak said.