13 areas under Signal No. 1 due to Amang —PAGASA

Thirteen areas were placed under  Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 as Tropical Depression Amang continued to meander near Catanduanes, state weather bureau PAGASA said Wednesday.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, PAGASA said the following areas are under TCWS No. 1:

• Catanduanes
• Sorsogon
• Albay
• Camarines Sur
• Camarines Norte
• Burias Island
• Ticao Island
• Laguna (Liliw, Magdalena, Majayjay, Luisiana, Cavinti, Pagsanjan, Santa Cruz, Lumban, Kalayaan, Paete, Pakil, Pangil, Siniloan, Famy, Santa Maria, Mabitac, Pila)
• Aurora
• Quezon (City of Tayabas, Pitogo, San Andres, Buenavista, San Francisco, Calauag, Pagbilao, Infanta, Lopez, Catanauan, Mulanay, Guinayangan, Unisan, General Luna, Plaridel, Quezon, Alabat, Lucban, Sampaloc, Padre Burgos, Macalelon, Mauban, General Nakar, Perez, Agdangan, Gumaca, Atimonan, Real, San Narciso, Tagkawayan) including Polillo Islands
• Rizal (Tanay, Pililla, Jala-Jala, Rodriguez, Baras, City of Antipolo)
• Bulacan (Norzagaray, Doña Remedios Trinidad)
• Nueva Ecija (Gabaldon, Bongabon, Laur, General Tinio)

Moving slowly, Amang was estimated to be located over the coastal waters of Caramoan, Camarines Sur packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometer per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km/h as of 10 a.m.

Amang will move northwestward in the next 12 hours and will pass over the eastern localities in Camarines Sur, Lamon Bay, and Quezon with the possibility of passing near or over Polillo Islands.

The track might change due to the weak and disorganized nature of Amang, PAGASA said.

“The tropical depression is forecast to weaken into a low pressure area by tomorrow, possibly earlier, due to the combined effects of land interaction, dry air intrusion, and increasing vertical wind shear,” it said.

For the next 24 hours, PAGASA said an accumulated rainfall of around 50 to 100 millimeters is expected over Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Quezon.

For the next three days, 50-100 mm accumulated rainfall is expected in Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and the southern portion of Aurora.

“Under these conditions, isolated flashfloods and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days," PAGASA said.

Strong winds from strong breeze to near gale strength associated with Amang are expected in areas under TCWS No. 1 that may result in minimal to minor impacts to life and property.

In the next 24 hours, moderate to rough seas up to 3.5 meters may be experienced over the eastern and southern seaboards of Southern Luzon and the eastern seaboard of Central Luzon.

“Mariners of small seacrafts are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea and, if possible, avoid navigating in these conditions,” PAGASA said.

Classes, stranded passengers, flights

Due to Amang, several classes across Luzon scheduled for Wednesday have been suspended due to Amang.

A total of 1,560 passengers on the other hand got stranded in various ports in the Bicol Region due to the effects of Amang, according to the Office of Civil Defense Region 5 on Wednesday.

Some flights were canceled due to the bad weather, according to the Manila International Airport Authority. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News