Tropical depression Ester is expected to leave the country’s area of responsibility on Sunday, July 31, but the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat” will still bring rains over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its bulletin on Saturday afternoon, July 30.
As of 3 p.m., PAGASA had estimated the location of the tropical depression at 575 kilometers east of Itbayat, Batanes.
It has maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 55 kph, while moving northward slowly over the Philippine Sea.
PAGASA said Ester is less likely to make landfall, as it may already exit the country’s area of responsibility on Sunday afternoon.
However, Ester and a tropical storm with the international name “Songda,” will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon or “habagat.”
In the next 24 hours, PAGASA said the cyclone-enhanced habagat will bring “scattered light to widespread moderate to at times heavy” monsoon rains over Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.
“Scattered light to moderate to at times heavy” monsoon rains may also affect Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar, Aklan, Antique, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Tarlac, and Bicol Region.
“Under these conditions, scattered flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely, especially in the areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in the hazards maps and in areas with significant antecedent rainfall,” PAGASA said.
The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy condition with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.
PAGASA also warned against flash floods or landslides that may occur during severe thunderstorms, which are often accompanied by sudden heavy rains, lightning, thunder, gusty winds, and sometimes hail.