Stormy weather may prevail across northern and central Luzon throughout Tuesday, Aug. 23, due to the expected passage of tropical storm Florita (international name “Ma-on”), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Monday afternoon, Aug. 22.
PAGASA in its 5 p.m. bulletin said Florita was located 155 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.
“Tropical storm Florita will continue moving generally westward until tonight (Aug. 22) before turning west-northwestward tomorrow early morning (Aug. 23),” PAGASA said.
Should it maintain its current speed and track, Florita will likely make landfall “in the vicinity of the east coast of Isabela or east coast of Cagayan” early morning on Tuesday, Aug. 23, it said.
More areas under Signal No. 2, 1
Tropical cyclone wind signal number 2 was hoisted over Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, eastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, eastern portion of Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and northern and central portions of Aurora.
Signal No. 1 was also up in Babuyan Islands, the rest of Nueva Vizcaya, the rest of Abra, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, eastern portion of Pangasinan, eastern portion of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, the rest of Aurora, eastern portion of Pampanga, eastern portion of Bulacan, northeastern portion of Rizal, northern portion of Quezon including Polillo Islands, northern portion of Laguna, and Camarines Norte.
Brace for intense rains, strong winds
“Moderate to heavy with at times intense rains” may prevail over Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Quezon, including Polillo Islands as early as Monday, PAGASA said.
“Moderate to heavy rains” may also affect Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Apayao, and Cagayan, while “light to moderate with at times heavy rains” may prevail over Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Batanes, Isabela, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, Marinduque, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Rizal.
By Tuesday, “heavy to intense with at times torrential rains” may prevail over Cagayan, Isabela, Batanes, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Ilocos Region.
Meanwhile, “moderate to heavy with at times intense rains” may affect Aurora, Zambales, and Bataan.
Light to moderate with at times heavy rains may persist over the rest of the Cagayan Valley and the rest of Central Luzon.
In the next 24 hours, PAGASA said the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat” will bring rains over Southern Luzon and Western Visayas.
“Under these conditions, scattered to widespread flooding, including flash floods, and rain-induced landslides are expected especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps, and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall,” PAGASA warned.