Rough seas in Northern Luzon due to 'Pepito'

MANILA, Philippines — A low pressure area that Pagasa had been monitoring developed into a tropical depression early Monday morning and will bring rain and rough seas in parts of the Philippines.

In an early morning bulletin, Pagasa said Tropical Depression 'Pepito' is seen to remain a tropical depression over the next three days and may make landfall "as a tropical depression or a weak tropical storm."

'Pepito' was estimated at 820 km East of Virac, Catanduanes early Monday morning and is moving west northwest at 20 kilometers per hour. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km/h.

Gale warning up

A Gale Warning is in effect over the seaboards of Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Isabela, where seas will be "rough to very rough" (2.8 to 4.5 m). Sea travel is risky in these areas, especially for small boats.

Moderate to rough (1.5-3 m) seas are also expected on the eastern seaboards of Central Luzon and Bicol Region and the seaboards of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar.

Strong winds are also expected in the following areas:

• Batanes
• Babuyan Islands
• Coastal and mountainous areas of northern Ilocos Norte
• Apayao
• Cagayan
• Isabela
• Aurora
• Quezon
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Albay
• Sorsogon
• Northern Samar

Meanwhile, the following areas may experience light to moderate with at times heavy rains:

• Quezon
• Bicol Region
• Eastern Visayas
• Zamboanga Peninsula
• Bangasamoro
• Dinagat Islands
• Surigao del Norte
• Surigao del Sur
• Davao Oriental
• Davao Occidental
• Sultan Kudarat
• South Cotabato
• Sarangani