Expect a rainy weekend over parts of the country due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by a severe tropical storm with the international name “Bebinca,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 12.
As of 3 p.m., the severe tropical storm was located 1,885 kilometers east of northern Luzon, with maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 125 kph.
Bebinca is projected to move northward at 35 kph and is likely to briefly stay inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), entering by Friday evening, Sept. 13, and exiting the vicinity by Saturday morning, Sept. 14.
Once inside the PAR, it will be given the local name “Ferdie.”
While landfall is unlikely, PAGASA warned that the combined effects of the trough or outer cloud bands of Bebinca, along with the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat), may bring rains to most of the country over the weekend.
Over the next 24 hours, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen may receive 100 to 200 millimeters of rainfall (heavy to intense) due to the habagat.
Meanwhile, Bicol Region, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and the rest of Visayas and Mindanao may receive 50 to 100 millimeters of rainfall (moderate to heavy).
PAGASA said the trough of Bebinca may also bring moderate to heavy rains to Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Quezon, and Aurora.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy weather with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to the storm’s trough.
PAGASA warned of possible flooding or landslides, especially in areas classified as “highly or very highly susceptible” to these hazards and areas that have received substantial rainfall in the past few days.