No typhoon but rains to persist

A LOW pressure area (LPA) developed inside the country at dawn yesterday, raising the possibility of more rains in Cebu for the week, the Mactan office of the state weather bureau Pagasa said yesterday.

Pagasa Mactan weather specialist Romeo Aguirre said the LPA was spotted 185 kilometers east of Sorsogon City.

“The LPA and intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will bring intermittent light to moderate rains in Cebu,” Aguirre said.

The ITCZ is usually experienced in November and December during the transition period from the southwest monsoon (habagat) to northeast monsoon (amihan).

Aguirre said there is a low chance that the LPA will develop into typhoon, and it will just dissipate.

Pagasa expects three typhoons for this month. As of 6 p.m. last night, Pagasa Mactan recorded 10.6 millimeters of rains from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3.

Pagasa Mactan is also monitoring a tropical storm and tropical depression brewing outside the country.

If the storm enters the country, it will be named Marce (international name Meari).

Aguirre said Marce was spotted 1,435 kilometers east of Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and 80 kilometers of gustiness.

“This storm is still stationary. We still have to monitor its track,” Aguirre said.

The local government units (LGUs), specially in southern Cebu, were ordered to activate their local disaster risk reduction management office (LDRRMO) by the provincial government in the anticipation of the entry of two tropical depressions.

Dennis Cortez, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) operations chief, said they directed local governments especially in southern Cebu to monitor weather forecasts and activate their respective disaster management offices.

Yesterday’s downpour caused flooding in mountain barangays and overflowing of rivers in some areas of southern Cebu.

The floods caused heavy traffic along the Cebu South Road yesterday afternoon.
Water overflowed from Pitalo bridge in Barangay Pitalo, San Fernando, causing knee-deep to even waist-high floodwater and rendering both lanes of the highway impassable at 4:30 p.m. yesterday, San Fernando municipal information officer Karla Casa said.

In Mandaue City, portions of A. Soriano Avenue and Jose Briones Street were flooded, causing traffic congestion at a mall. The waters receded at past 3 p.m.

The Philippine Coast Guard–Cebu station didn’t cancel any trips pending a weather advisory from Pagasa.

“But once we receive the gale warning advisory from Pag-asa, we will immediately cancel all trips,” PCG-Cebu station commander Agapito Bibat said in Cebuano.