CLUSTERS of clouds forming outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility could develop into another low pressure area and bring rains, the state weather bureau said on Sunday morning, hours after Tropical Depression Dodong left the country.

“We are currently monitoring cloud clusters on the eastern side of the Mindanao area outside the Philippine area of responsibility,” Daniel James E. Villamil, a weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), told a live broadcast. 

“We are not discounting the possibility that these cloud clusters could develop into a low pressure area in the coming days,” he added.

Dodong (Talim), which made landfall on Thursday evening, has intensified into a tropical storm as it moved out of the Philippines on Saturday afternoon.

As of 3 a.m. on Sunday, the typhoon’s center was spotted 390 kilometers west of Laog City, Ilocos Norte. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) and 105 kph gusts.

It was moving west-northwest at a speed of 20 kph, away from the Philippines.

“It no longer has a direct effect on any parts of our island but the southwest monsoon or hanging habagat is causing rainfall in large parts of our country,” Mr. Villamil said.

Talim was expected to continue bringing heavy rainfall in Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro in the next three days.

“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.

A total of 1,638 people from 491 families have been affected by the combined effects of southwest monsoon, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Thirty-six evacuation centers were opened in the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Western Visayas to house evacuees, it said in a report.

There were no reported damages to houses, infrastructure or agriculture.

The gale warning earlier issued by the state weather bureau remained in effect across several parts of the country.

“Due to the continuous existence of the southwest monsoon, a gale warning is raised in some seaboards within our island,” Mr. Villamil said.
Affected areas are Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Romblon, Marinduque, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, the western coast of Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Cagayancillo, Cuyo, Kalayaan Islands, the southern coast of Quezon, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras and the northwestern coast of Aklan. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

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