TROPICAL Depression Mirasol swept across Northern Luzon on Wednesday after making landfall in Aurora, forcing storm signals across more than a dozen provinces and raising the risk of heavier rains and flooding in the coming days, the state weather bureau said.
The cyclone, with sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 90 kph, was last tracked over Kabugao, Apayao province, moving northwestward at 20 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a 5 p.m. bulletin.
Signal No. 1 warnings were hoisted over Batanes and Cagayan, the western and northern portions of Isabela, the northwestern portion of Quirino and the northern portion of Nueva Vizcaya.
It was also in effect in the provinces of Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, the northern portion of Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and the northern portion of La Union.
PAGASA warned that a minimal to minor threat to life and property was possible under this wind signal.
Mirasol was expected to move northwestward within the next 12 hours while traversing Northern Luzon and re-emerge over the Luzon Strait on Wednesday evening, PAGASA said.
It was expected to maintain its strength and could intensify into a tropical storm by Thursday evening or Friday morning, which could prompt higher wind signals, it added.
Malacañang said more than 2.5 million food packs and other relief items had been prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Meanwhile, Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. said the public should prepare for more typhoons and above-normal rainfall amid the possible development of La Niña by the last quarter.
“There will be projected La Niña by October, November, December, and continuing until February,” he told reporters late Tuesday. “It will be short-lived but… you expect more tropical cyclones, more rainfall. So we need to prepare for floods.”
PAGASA on Tuesday said there was a 70% chance of a La Niña onset as early as October. In its separate climate outlook, the agency said as many as 15 tropical cyclones could enter the Philippines in the next six months.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) urged the public to brace for extreme rainfall expected from the approaching La Niña season.
Families should stay updated through the HazardHunterPH app, on social media, or through local government announcements, and coordinate with village officials on evacuation plans.
Communities should also monitor the government’s Flood Susceptibility Map and remain alert to early warning signs such as rapid water level rise, muddy streams, or ground cracks that may indicate flash floods or landslides, it added. — Edg Adrian A. Eva and Andre Christopher H. Alampay
