Cyclone 'Paeng' to arrive Friday

MANILA, Philippines — A tropical depression is expected the Philippine Area of Responsibility late Friday but is currently too far to affect any part of the country, the state weather bureau said.

In a morning advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that the cyclone, to be renamed "Paeng" once in the country's vicinity, was estimated 1,320 kilometers east of Visayas.

It sustains maximum winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center, tracking westward at 14 kph. It is unlikely to make a landfall.

The cyclone developed overnight from being a low-pressure area and may bring light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms to Metro Manila and the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna.

Cagayan Valley, the provinces of Quezon and Aurora and the regions of Bicol and Eastern Visayas are expected to have cloudy with moderate to occasionally heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms.

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