Basyang downgraded to LPA

Tropical Depression Basyang has weakened into a low pressure area, according to the state weather bureau PAGASA early Saturday morning.

PAGASA said Basyang returned to LPA status at 2 a.m. and is "unlikely" to develop into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours. At 4 a.m., the LPA was located 105 km southeast of Cuyo, Palawan, moving westward at 25 km/h.

"The remnant low will move generally west northwestward over the Sulu Sea and cross the northern Palawan. However, as the remnant low moves over increasingly less favorable environmental conditions, there is a likelihood that it may dissipate over the Sulu Sea," PAGASA said.

Basyang made five landfalls, according to PAGASA weather specialist Leanne Loreto.

These were as follows:

Bayabas, Surigao del Sur - Feb. 5 at 11:50 p.m.

Jagna, Bohol - Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.

Dauis, Bohol - Feb. 6 at 4 p.m.

Alcoy, Cebu - Feb. 6 at 7:50 p.m.

Ayungon, Negros Oriental - Feb. 6 at 9 p.m.

Over the last two days, the weather disturbance caused heavy rains in various parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.

Four people were reported dead in a landslide in Cagayan de Oro City while Iligan City was placed under a state of calamity.

The Office of Civil Defense said aside from the four reported deaths in Cagayan de Oro, three deaths were also reported in Iligan City and one in Agusan del Norte. All data are still for validation, it added.

Houses in Barangay San Antonio, Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, were flooded, forcing the locals to seek shelter in the covered court and barangay health stations.

Some flights were canceled and sea travel was suspended in the affected areas. —VBL/KG, GMA Integrated News