LPA off Davao to bring rain over Visayas and Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines — A low-pressure area (LPA) spotted off Davao is expected to bring rain over the Visayas and Mindanao in the next few days, state weather forecasters said yesterday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was last seen 495 kilometers east-southeast of Davao City.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the bad weather that prevailed in some parts of the country during the start of the year has increased to 35, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.

Damage to infrastructure due to rain and flash floods spawned by the LPA, shear line and the northeast monsoon or amihan in 12 regions has ballooned to P276.7 million.

The bad weather destroyed P751.97 million worth of crops and livestocks, the NDRRMC said.

PAGASA weather forecaster Obet Badrina said cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms may prevail over Caraga, Davao region, Northern Mindanao and the Visayas due to the trough or extension of the LPA.

Badrina said residents should be alert for flash floods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains.

The LPA is unlikely to intensify into a tropical storm.

Bicol, Cagayan Valley and the Cordilleras as well as the provinces of Aurora, Marinduque, Quezon and Romblon may experience cloudy skies with rainshowers due to the monsoon. Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with light rains.

The rest of the country is expected to have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.