LPA enters PAR; to bring rains over Mindanao

MANILA – The low pressure area (LPA) earlier spotted east of the country has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Saturday and will bring rains over Mindanao, the state weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration said that as of 2 p.m. Saturday, the LPA was spotted at 725 kilometers (km) east of Eastern Visayas, while the southwest monsoon is affecting Luzon.

Weather forecaster Chris Perez said the LPA, based on their model, has a small chance to turn into a tropical storm in the next 24 hours.

In case the weather disturbance becomes a tropical storm, it will be named “Karen," the 11th cyclone to enter the country in 2012.

Perez said the southwest monsoon is affecting Luzon, which will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms, becoming widespread rains over the western section of southern Luzon that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao while the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the south to southwest with slight to moderate seas.

Meanwhile, five houses were washed away on Saturday by flashflood spawned by incessant rains that hit Curuan, an east coast village 50 kilometers from Zamboanga City Hall.

Mayor Celso Lobregat described the flashflood as “too fast” as the flood water started rising at 1 p.m. and started receding at 3 p.m. “The water came from the mountain,” he added.

Lobregat said no one was either killed or injured in the flashflood that submerged the central part of Curuan up to waist-deep.

The flashflood also cracked the riprap wall and slope protection at the river of Sitio Mina aside from destroying five houses, Lobregat said.

Lobregat and other City Government officials immediately rushed to Curuan to deliver relief goods.

He said they have yet to determine the extent of damage to agricultural crops, since ricefields were completely submerged when the water rises. Other agricultural products of Curuan include corn and root crops.

The village of Curuan, which has a land area of 72.16 square kilometers, is one of the trading centers in Zamboanga City’s east coast. (PNA/Sunnex)