MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Mimaropa should brace for rains later this week as the southwest monsoon is expected to be enhanced by a brewing cyclone over Mindanao.
Ariel Rojas, weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said a low-pressure area was located 760 kilometers east of Butuan, Agusan del Norte at 3 p.m. yesterday, and was forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next 24 hours.
PAGASA said the low-pressure area would be named Domeng once it develops into a cyclone.
Rojas said the brewing cyclone would likely pull the southwest monsoon toward the western side of the country by Thursday when it moves closer to northern Luzon.
PAGASA also warned residents of Caraga and Eastern Visayas against possible flashfloods and landslides due to the low-pressure area and the intertropical convergence zone.
Bicol provinces, Palawan and the rest of the Visayas and Mindanao will have light to moderate rains and thunderstorms.
PAGASA said it expects the rainy season to commence between yesterday and June 14.
Weather forecasters said the approaching weather disturbance might enhance the rain-bearing southwest monsoon, one of the criteria in declaring the onset of the wet season.
Farm animals drown
In Maguindanao, around 67 farm animals drowned in flood waters spawned by heavy rains in Sultan Mastura town.
Several low-lying barangays were flooded as rivers overflowed over the weekend.
In Boracay, 28 passengers were rescued when a motorized boat ran aground some 70 meters away from the Cagban Jetty Port in Barangay Manoc-Manoc.
The victims, all residents of Boracay, swam toward Cagban port as rescue vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard and the police were unable to get close to their boat because of the rough sea condition. – With John Unson, Evelyn Macairan