Heavy rains pound Metro Manila, disrupt classes

MANILA, Philippines – The southwest monsoon and a low-pressure area (LPA) off Cagayan brought heavy rains over Metro Manila and nearby provinces yesterday, forcing the cancellation of afternoon classes in some schools.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was located at 815 kilometers east of Calayan Island as of 4 p.m.

The LPA was not expected to intensify into a tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours, the weather bureau said.

However, it will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon which will bring moderate to heavy rains over Metro Manila, Ilocos region, Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-

Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) and the provinces of Zambales, Bataan, Mindoro and northern Palawan.

The showers will continue until early next week, the agency said.

“Residents in these areas are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides,” the weather bureau said.

New storm spotted

Meanwhile, PAGASA spotted a tropical storm east of the Philippines yesterday afternoon.

The tropical storm with international name Conson was located at 3,930 km east of Luzon as of 2 p.m. It packed winds of 75 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.

It was forecast to move west-northwest at 15 kph.

PAGASA said Conson was not expected to enter the country within the next 24 hours.

Class suspension

The heavy rainfall in Metro Manila and nearby provinces prompted local government officials to suspend classes.

Starting noontime yesterday, classes in all levels were suspended in Parañaque, Las Piñas, Pasay, Valenzuela, Taguig, Makati, Marikina, Malabon, Caloocan, Manila, Cavite and Rizal. – With Janvic Mateo, Ding Cervantes, Rudy Santos, Perseus Echeminada, Evelyn Macairan, Ric Sapnu

Meanwhile, classes up to high school level were suspended in Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Pateros, San Juan and Quezon City.

Stranded tourists safe

After 20 hours of being stranded on Fortune Island in Nasugbu last Monday due to bad weather, 20 local tourists were able to return safely to the Port of Batangas yesterday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

“Our rescue team could not continue with its rescue operation last Monday because of big waves,” PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said.

But at 5:40 a.m. yesterday, the rescue team was able to depart the Port of Batangas to fetch the tourists.

Cancelled, diverted flights

The Manila International Airport Authority said as of noon yesterday, four domestic flights were cancelled due to bad the weather.

These were PAL Express flight 2P 2057/2058 Manila-Caticlan-Manila and Cebu Pacific flights 5J 513/514 Manila-Mindoro-Manila.

On the other hand, seven flights were diverted yesterday to Clark International Airport due to poor visibility at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

These were Cebu Pacific flights from Tagbilaran, Ozamis, Zamboanga and Mactan, and Airphil Express flights from Butuan and Catarman, as well as an ATR private plane from Palawan. – With Janvic Mateo, Ding Cervantes, Rudy Santos, Perseus Echeminada, Evelyn Macairan, Ric Sapnu