Pagasa warns of more rains due to La Niña

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the weather bureau warned the public yesterday against possible flashfloods and landslides as heavy rains brought by the La Niña phenomenon will continue to affect the country, particularly the eastern portions, until May next year.

Flaviana Hilario, deputy administrator for research and development of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the La Niña event is likely to terminate by May or June 2012.

She said the eastern section of the country, including the Bicol region, will experience more rains in January.

The Bicol region is one of the areas under Type II climate. Areas under the Type II climate have no dry season and a very pronounced maximum rain period from December to February.

In February, most parts of the country will experience “more rains than normal,” especially the eastern portion of the country, Hilario said.

She said “higher than normal” rainfall is also expected to prevail in March.

She, however, noted that even if the rainfall in the western section of the country doubles during this month, it would not be critical because this portion of the country receives minimal rain during the months of March and April.

For the month of April, Hilario said La Niña rains would still prevail over the country “but relatively low rainfall is likely to affect the country particularly over the western section.”

She said near to above normal rains will prevail over the country in May. The rainy season associated with the southwest monsoon for areas under Type I climate usually starts during the second half of May.

“La Niña is expected to last until May or June. We expect neutral condition during the rest of the year,” Hilario said.

She said rainy season in the western section of the country – including Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, western part of Mountain Province, western part of Nueva Ecija, Central Luzon, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, southern parts of Antique and Iloilo, northwestern part of Palawan, and the southern parts of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental – starts in June and ends in September.

She said the last quarter of 2012, particularly the months of November and December, “would not be as rainy as this year.”

La Niña, Spanish for “little girl,” refers to the abnormal cooling of the sea surface temperature in the Pacific and is characterized by excessive rainfall.