A glimpse of the Cebu City skyline from the mountains of Busay in Cebu City on Thursday, July 18. | Carl Ong
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Fair weather may return in Cebu this weekend after days of heavy rains that resulted in floodings and landslides in many parts of the island-province.
Based on the latest forecast from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in Mactan (Pagasa-Mactan), chances are high for the weather in Cebu to improve beginning this Saturday, July 20.
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But in the meantime, light to moderate rains will prevail from Thursday, July 18 to Friday, July 19 due to the presence of the low-pressure area (LPA).
“Pero dili gihapon ta magkompyansa kay wala pa mibiya ang LPA. Mag expect gihapon ta og light to moderate rains today (Thursday), and then mag improve na by weekend,” said Jhomer Eclarino, weather specialist at Pagasa-Mactan.
(But we should not be complacent because the LPA is still here. We can still expect light to moderate rains today (Thursday), and then this will improve by the weekend.)
It was the LPA that brought hours-long downpour that resulted in floodings in at least nine areas in northern Cebu, of which over 200 individuals were subjected to preemptive evacuation.
It also led to landslides in Catmon town, also in the north, and Naga City in the south on Wednesday, July 17.
As of Thursday morning, the LPA was last spotted hovering over Catbalogan City in Samar but Pagasa predicted that its chances of developing into a tropical depression is slim.
On the other hand, the state weather bureau belied reports circulating online that a super typhoon named Lakas hit the country.
Lakas, which was supposedly as strong as super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) which pummeled the Philippines in November 2013, does not exist.
“Lakas” is also not included in the list of names that Pagasa has for tropical cyclones that may enter or form within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) for 2024. / with reports from Emmariel Ares, INQUIRER.net