By ELLALYN RUIZ
Tropical cyclone wind signal No. 1 has been raised over Batanes, Babuyan, and parts of Cagayan as the low-pressure area (LPA) east of Luzon developed into tropical depression “Carina” early Monday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration placed under Signal No. 1 Batanes, Babuyan Islands, and the northeastern portion of Cagayan — Sta. Ana, Gonzaga, Sta. Teresita, Buguey, eastern Lal-lo, eastern Gattaran, and eastern Baggao.
Carina may bring scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains over Cagayan, Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Abra, and Ilocos Norte and scattered light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Metro Manila, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur as early as Monday.
The State weather bureau said areas under Signal No.1 will also experience occasional wind gusts.
Flooding and rain-induced landslides may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards, PAGASA warned.
The public and disaster risk reduction and management offices concerned were advised to take appropriate measures and monitor the rainfall or thunderstorm advisories or heavy rainfall warnings issued by PAGASA Regional Services Divisions.
TRACK
At 1 p.m., Carina was estimated at 200 kilometers east-northeast of Tuguegarao City, with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 55 kph.
PAGASA said the center of the tropical cyclone may move northwest towards the Luzon Strait, passing roughly 100 kilometers off the northeastern tip of Luzon near Babuyan Islands and Batanes.
However, accounting for the forecast track probability cone, PAGASA said a landfall scenario over these areas remains a possibility.
By Tuesday morning, PAGASA said Carina will be 55 kms west-northwest of Basco, Batanes and 430 kms north of Basco Wednesday morning.
It advised fisherfolk and others using small seacraft not to venture out into the northern and eastern coasts of Luzon in the next 24 hours as the tropical cyclone may trigger rough to very rough sea conditions.
Visayas and Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers mostly in the afternoon or evening due to localized thunderstorms.
The tropical depression will likely weaken and become once again an LPA Wednesday, PAGASA said.
Carina is the first tropical cyclone to form inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this month and third in 2020.
PAGASA historical data from 1948 to 2016 showed an average of two to four tropical cyclones form or enter the PAR in July.
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