‘Habagat’ forces class suspensions
‘Henry’ exits, but ‘Inday’ is coming
Torrential rains threatened more flooding, causing local governments to announce the suspension of classes on all levels in both public and private schools today in Metro Manila and big parts of Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog regions.
As of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, local governments in Metro Manila suspended classes in the Cities of Manila, Quezon, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Caloocan, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, Pasig, Las Piñas, San Juan, Pasay, Makati, and Taguig; and the municipality of Pateros.
In Central Luzon (Region 3), the suspension of classes on all levels in both public and private schools for Wednesday covers the towns of Bocaue, Calumpit, Plaridel, Obando, and Marilao and the cities of Malolos, Meycauayan, and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; the towns of Floridablanca, Apalit, Porac, Guagua and Mabalacat in Pampanga; the whole province of Bataan; and the entire province of Zam-
bales, including Olongapo City.
In Calabarzon or Region 4-A, the towns of Cainta, Rodriguez, Taytay, Angono, Binangonan, and San Mateo in Rizal; Dasmariñas, Bacoor, and Imus Cities in Cavite; and the entire province of Laguna also suspended classes.
Monsoon rains and floods tormented a big part of Luzon and Western Visayas yesterday, resulting in the widespread suspension of work and classes even as tropical storm “Henry” exited the country.
Meanwhile, another weather disturbance east of the country will likely develop into tropical depression “Inday.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) lifted all storm warning signals hoisted over northern Luzon.
But Henry continued to enhance the “habagat,” which brought monsoon rains over Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, and Palawan.
The rest of Luzon and Visayas will have cloudy skies with scattered monsoon rains and thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms prevailed across Mindanao due to localized thunderstorms.
Residents of these areas, especially those living in low-lying and mountainous areas, were advised to continue monitoring for PAGASA updates, coordinate with their local disaster risk reduction and management offices, and take appropriate actions against possible flooding and landslides.
From a tropical depression, Henry intensified into a storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 80 kph.
It was already outside the Philippine area of responsibility or about 700 kilometers (km) west of Basco, Batanes before Tuesday evening. It was moving westward relatively fast at 45 kph.
Based on PAGASA’s rainfall monitoring at its Science Garden Station in Quezon City, weather observer Carizz Deleña said the amount of rainfall reached 63 mm between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday. This amount of rainfall, she said, is “moderate.”
While the amount of accumulated rainfall may still be lower than the 455mm rainfall dumped by tropical storm “Ondoy” in 2009, weather forecasters warned that the monsoon rains may continue until the end of the week that may trigger more flooding and landslides over parts of Luzon and Visayas.
Meanwhile, PAGASA said the LPA at 805 km east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan province could develop into a tropical depression within 36 hours.
It will be named “Inday” once it becomes a cyclone.
PAGASA advised fisherfolk and seafarers to prevent from setting sail into the sea as sea travel remains risky over the western seaboard of Southern Luzon.