Habagat Rains to Continue Over Luzon, Visayas; Flooding, Landslides Possible

MANILA, Philippines — The southwest monsoon or habagat will continue to bring rains over parts of Luzon and Visayas on Saturday, September 5, with some areas expected to experience heavy downpours, PAGASA said. The state weather bureau said that monsoon rains will prevail over Occidental Mindoro, while occasional rains are expected in Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Antique. The Ilocos Region, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, the rest of Central Luzon, CALABARZON and MIMAROPA, as well as Abra, Benguet and Northern Samar, will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of Luzon will generally have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. In Visayas, occasional rains are expected over Antique, while Western Visayas and Northern Samar may experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the Visayas and the entire Mindanao will have generally fair weather, although hot and humid conditions are expected. Localized thunderstorms may still develop over Mindanao. The weather in the rest of Luzon is expected to improve, although partly cloudy to cloudy skies may persist. Occidental Mindoro may receive 100 to 200 millimeters of rain on Saturday due to the habagat. PAGASA warned that flooding is likely, particularly in urbanized, low-lying areas and communities near rivers. Landslides are also possible in areas that are moderately to highly susceptible to the hazard. Meanwhile, 50 to 100 mm of rain may fall over Zambales, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Antique. Localized flooding is possible in urbanized and low-lying areas and those near rivers, while landslides may occur in highly susceptible areas. On Sunday, 50 to 100 mm of rain is expected over Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas and Occidental Mindoro. For Monday, September 7, PAGASA expects the same rainfall range over La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas and Occidental Mindoro. Meanwhile, PAGASA is monitoring a tropical depression located 1,685 kilometers east-northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon, outside the Philippine area of responsibility. The tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 70 kph. It is moving northward at 35 kph, with its chances of entering PAR becoming increasingly low, according to PAGASA.