Students told to brace for rains

CEBU, Philippines - The public especially the high school and college students in private schools, who are coming back to school today after a long summer, is advised to bring rain gear as the country will continue to experience cloudy skies with rainshowers brought about by Tropical Storm Dante.

Weather specialist Neil Fernando of PAGASA-Central Visayas said yesterday that we will continue to experience rainshowers as long as this weather disturbance will remain in the country.

Based on PAGASA's 24-hour weather forecast issued at 5 p.m. yesterday Tropical Storm Dante was estimated based on all available data at 900 kms east of Basco, Batanes.

It has maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph. It is forecast to move North Northeast at 11 kph.

Tropical Storm Dante is expected to be at 1,050 kms Northeast of Basco, Batanes, this morning and at 1,140 kms Northeast of Basco, Batanes in the evening or 500 kms East of Okinawa, Japan.

Tropical Storm Dante, PAGASA said, is far off to directly affect any part of the country.

However, they added it will continue to enhance the Southwest windflow that will bring rains and thunderstorms over the western sections of Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda will lead the launch and special screening of "Ligtas", an instructional video on disaster preparedness next week.

Ligtas gives valuable instructions and precautionary information to families and communities on how to prepare for and what to do during typhoons, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The instructional video was produced by Legarda, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, and is directed by Brillante Mendoza.  —with Philippine STAR News Service/BRP