‘ODETTE’ EXITS BUT WILL STILL DUMP RAINS

Severe Tropical Storm “Odette” (international name: Khanun) will continue to dump rains across Luzon on Sunday even as it moves away from the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Heavy rains brought by the storm’s passage across the West Philippine Sea toward Hainan, China, may trigger flash floods and landslides, especially in the northern regions, Pagasa warned.

In a press briefing at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Pagasa said that Odette would exit the PAR in the evening, though cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains with thunderstorms were expected on Sunday over Metro Manila, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Ilocos Region, and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

Rough seas on Friday morning battered a Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier which later sank 280 kilometers off Santa Ana town in Cagayan province, leaving 10 crewmembers missing.

A Coast Guard report said 15 other crewmembers of the freighter, the 33,205-ton MV Emerald Star, were rescued by three passing vessels. It said all 26 men on board were Indian nationals.

Pagasa expected the rest of Luzon on Sunday to experience light to moderate rains with thunderstorms.

At 4 p.m. on Saturday, the center of Odette was estimated at 300 km west of Laoag City. The storm moved at 10 kph but packed maximum sustained winds of 105 kph near the center.

Pagasa lifted all storm signals in the country on Saturday afternoon, but said Odette might intensify into a typhoon within 24 hours as it exited the PAR.

On Friday, the local government of Allacapan town in Cagayan province declared a state of calamity after floodwaters inundated 27 villages.