Pagasa warning: Kiko moves farther away but could still cause floods, landslides

Even as typhoon Kiko (international code name: Morakot) moved farther away from Philippines on Saturday, the state weather bureau warned the public against occasional downpours that could cause flashfloods and landslides in the northern part of the country. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Kiko will continue to intensify the country's southwest monsoon in the next few hours and bring heavy rains in Luzon including Metro Manila. Landslides similar to those that killed or injured several people in Baguio City on Friday and closed many mountain roads in Luzon could also now easily happen as days of continuous raining have loosened the soil, weather officials said. Latest data from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) placed Kiko’s death toll at 10 people, including three French trekkers who all drowned in a Tarlac flashflood and three children who were buried in a landslide in Baguio. Kiko has also affected more than 73,000 people in in Luzon, including parts of Metro Manila, said the NDCC. In its 11 a.m. bulletin Saturday, the Pagasa lifted all storm alerts in all of northern Luzon. only Batanes province as well as Babuyan and Calayan Islands in Cagayan province remained under Storm Warning Signal No. 1. Weather forecasters also said Kiko packed maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near the center and gustiness 160 kph as it swept northwest at a speed of 9 kph toward Taiwan. By Sunday, the weather disturbance is expected to be located 150 north of northern Taiwan. The Pagasa also said it was tracking a low-pressure area (LPA) over the Pacific Ocean, estimated at 1,620 km east-northeast of northern Luzon. Kiko is the 11th tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this year. An average of 20 cyclones enter the PAR each year. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV