LPA Triggers Scattered Rain Over Southern Luzon, Flood and Landslide Risks Highlighted

A low-pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is bringing rain to Southern Luzon, Central Luzon, portions of Northern Luzon, and Western Visayas on Wednesday, July 29. The LPA was located in the vicinity of Macalelon, Quezon, as of 3 pm on Wednesday. It had formed at 2 pm on Tuesday, July 28, from cloud clusters east of Eastern Visayas, then crossed Bicol on Wednesday morning. In its 4 pm forecast on Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA is causing scattered rain and thunderstorms in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Central Luzon, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, and Western Visayas. Flash floods and landslides are possible, especially during periods of moderate to heavy rain. Other areas in Luzon not mentioned above may also see scattered rain and thunderstorms for the rest of Wednesday, but due to the easterlies or warm winds from the Pacific Ocean. The rest of the Philippines will continue to have generally fair weather, with just localized thunderstorms. So far, the LPA is unlikely to develop into a tropical depression in the next 24 hours. PAGASA Weather Specialist Benison Estareja said the LPA will continue to move west northwest in the next 12 hours, and emerge over the West Philippine Sea by early Thursday morning, July 30. It may eventually dissipate over the sea. The weather bureau is also monitoring another LPA that formed outside PAR at 8 am on Wednesday. By 3 pm, it was located 1,755 kilometers east of southeastern Luzon. This second LPA is not expected to enter PAR, and is also unlikely to become a tropical depression within 24 hours. But Estareja said the trough or extension of the LPA outside PAR may trigger some rain on the eastern side of the country in the next couple of days before it dissipates. Source: Rappler Philippines