Heavy rains seen in Southern Tagalog as Amang moves slowly

Tropical Depression Amang will continue to dump rains across parts of Luzon on Wednesday as it moves slowly over northern Camarines Sur near San Miguel Bay, according to PAGASA.

Based on its 11 p.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau said the center of Amang was last seen in the vicinity of Tinambac town as of 10 p.m. It will continue to move very slowly while heading northwestward and is packing maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h near the center, gustiness of up to 55 km/h, and a central pressure of 1006 hPa.

PAGASA said Storm Signal Number 1 is hoisted over the following areas:

1. Catanduanes
2. Albay
3. Camarines Sur
4. Camarines Norte
5. Laguna (Cavinti, Lumban, Kalayaan, Paete, Pakil, Pangil, Siniloan, Famy, Santa Maria, Mabitac)
6. Aurora
7. Quezon (Buenavista, Calauag, Infanta, Lopez, Guinayangan, Plaridel, Quezon, Alabat, Sampaloc, Mauban, General Nakar, Perez, Gumaca, Atimonan, Real, Tagkawayan, San Narciso) including Polillo Islands
8. Rizal (Tanay, Pililla, Rodriguez, Baras, City of Antipolo)
9. Bulacan (Norzagaray, Doña Remedios Trinidad)
10. Nueva Ecija (Gabaldon, Bongabon, Laur, General Tinio)

Heavy rains accumulating to around 50 to 100 mm are expected in the northern and western portions of Quezon and the eastern portion of Laguna in the next 24 hours and in the next three days over Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, the western portion of Quezon, the central portion of Aurora, and the eastern portions of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. Intense rains (100-200 mm) are forecast in the northern portion of Quezon and the southern portion of Aurora.

The agency warned isolated flash floods and rain-induced landslides are possible under these conditions, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days.

Severe winds with a strong breeze to near gale strength may also prevail in the affected areas and may cause minimal to minor impacts to life and property, it added.

“In the next 24 hours, moderate to rough seas may be experienced over the western seaboards of northern Luzon (1.2 to 3.5 m), and the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon (1.2 to 2.8 m). Mariners of small seacraft are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea and, if possible, avoid navigating in these conditions,” PAGASA said.

Amang is expected to track generally northwestward in the next 24 hours and traverse Camarines Norte and northern Quezon.

The tropical depression is forecast to weaken into a low-pressure area Thursday, or possibly earlier, due to the combined effects of land interaction, dry air intrusion, and increasing vertical wind shear. —NB, GMA Integrated News