MANILA, Philippines — Rains will continue until midweek despite the exit of Severe Tropical Storm Chedeng as the southwest monsoon affects many areas in the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
PAGASA weather specialist Ana Clauren said Chedeng (international name Guchol) left the Philippine area of responsibility at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Clauren added that the tropical storm was located 1,550 kilometers east northeast of extreme Northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour near the center, with gustiness up to 135 kph moving northeast at 35 kph.
“Severe Tropical Storm Chedeng will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon as it will affect the entire Luzon and the Visayas,” Clauren said.
On Monday, heavy rainfall warning was raised in Metro Manila, Zambales, Cavite, Batangas, Pampanga, Bulacan and Rizal.
“Based on our forecast, rains brought by the southwest monsoon will persist early this week until midweek as we monitored another weather system, the frontal system, causing heavy rains in many areas in the country,” Clauren added.
Based on the latest bulletin of PAGASA, monsoon rains will be experienced in the Ilocos region, Zambales and Bataan; while Metro Manila, Batanes, Babuyan islands, Abra, Benguet, the rest of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Occidental Mindoro and Northern Palawan, including Calamian and Cuyo Islands, will be affected by the southwest monsoon.
According to the weather bureau, the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.
Angat dam
Meanwhile, the water elevation of Angat Dam has finally experienced a slight increase brought about by the southwest monsoon rains.
But the question is whether the monsoon rains can be enough to raise the water elevation of Angat Dam to a safer level, following reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US issued on Thursday an El Niño advisory announcing the arrival of the climatic phenomenon.
Records from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Bulacan showed that water elevation of Angat Dam yesterday morning was at 187.53 meters compared to Sunday morning’s 187.42 meters.
Although the 11-centimeter increase was not significant, the southwest monsoon rains however beat the recent rainfall brought by Typhoons Chedeng and Betty – both of which failed to raise Angat Dam’s water elevation.
Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of the raw water requirements for Metro Manila residents, contributes hydropower generation to the Luzon grid and provides irrigation to ricelands in Bulacan and parts of Pampanga.
Its water level has been gradually receding toward minimum operating level of 180 meters.
Currently the dam’s water elevation is 24.47 meters below its normal high water elevation of 212 meters and just 7.53 meters above its minimum operating level.
Normally, when the water elevation of Angat Dam reaches the 180-meter mark, water allocations for irrigation and hydropower generation are cut and the rest is reserved for the drinking water needs of Metro Manila residents. — Ramon Efren Lazaro