Tropical depression Amang brings heavy rains in Samar provinces, Bicol

HEAVY rains are expected in eastern parts of the Philippines until Wednesday due to a tropical depression named Amang, the first typhoon to enter the country this year.

“Amang is forecast to remain as a tropical depression, with the possibility of weakening into a low pressure area by late Thursday or early Friday,” state weather agency PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. bulletin on Tuesday.

Wind signal number 1, the lowest in a five-level system, was raised by the state weather agency over the provinces of Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Masbate, parts of Quezon including Polilio Islands, Marinduque, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar, and Biliran.

“Areas under Wind Signal No. 1 may experience strong winds (strong breeze to near gale strength)… which may pose minimal to minor threat to life and property,” PAGASA said.

Other areas within the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions may also be placed under wind signal 1 in succeeding bulletins, it added.

The tropical depression is seen to stay offshore over the Philippine Sea, but a “landfall scenario” is not ruled out over Bicol or the northern portion of Samar Island, PAGASA weather forecaster Grace Castañeda said in Tuesday’s morning weather broadcast.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the typhoon’s center was located 270 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes. It was moving westward at 30 kilometers per hour (km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h and gustiness of up to 70 km/h.

“Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards,” PAGASA said.

The Philippines, located within the typhoon belt in the Pacific, experiences about 20 cyclones a year, five of which are usually destructive, according to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center. — MSJ