Heavy rains from LPA to affect Mindanao flood areas anew

MANILA, Philippines - While more than a million people are still recovering from cyclone Agaton and torrential rains over eastern Mindanao, the area will again be affected by heavy rains from an incoming low pressure area.

Eric Leister, AccuWeather meteorologist, said that a large area of showers and thunderstorms will track westward, reaching the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Friday or Saturday.

"The heaviest rainfall is expected to occur over the areas that are still recovering from the recent flooding," Leister said in a post.

The weather system is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rainfall with local amounts of over 12 inches, he said.

"This amount of rainfall across the southern and central Philippines can quickly lead to widespread flooding, while hindering recovery efforts across the region," Leister added.

The tropical low pressure, however, will not pass through the country over the long haul unlike Agaton, which lasted for weeks.

Leister forecasts the LPA to bring the heaviest rainfall within 24 hours.

State weather bureau PAGASA said, meanwhile, that it is monitoring the LPA over the Pacific Ocean but is not expecting it to intensify into a tropical depression.

PAGASA weather forecaster Fernando Cada explained in a state news report that the weather disturbance will also bring rains over eastern Visayas and Caraga region.

If it intensifies into a cyclone, however, the system will will called "Basyang" as the second of the year to enter the country.