TROPICAL Storm Egay made a sharp southwest turn Friday, putting it on course to pass over Northern Luzon, with landfall expected in Batanes by Sunday night or Monday morning, the weather bureau said Friday.
In Mindanao, heavy downpours since June 24 brought heavy flooding in Maguindanao province, affecting 95,000 residents in 13 towns and shutting down 32 schools.
amid the heavy rain in the area and in the Visayas in general that
caused the capsizing of ferry that killed 45 people. Michelle Alvarez
The Office of Civil Defense in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao placed the number of people affected at 19,032 families or 95,160 individuals in the floods that struck 81 barangays of the towns of Ampatuan, Datu Salibo, Sultan Sa Barongis, Rajah Buayan, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Buluan, Mangudadatu, Pandag, Mamasapano, Paglat, Northern Kabuntalan and Datu Paglas.
The school shutdowns have affected 8,111 students while P6.6 million worth of crops in 859 hectares have been destroyed.
In North Cotabato province, flooding has affected six barangays in Pikit town, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer Tahera Kalantungan said.
The weather bureau said the rains brought about by an inter-tropical convergent zone would continue due a tropical depression that is expected to enter the Philippines.
Known internationally as “Linfa,” Egay was 445 kilometers east of Baler, Aurora at 4 p.m. Friday with maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.
Egay is forecast to move west northwest at 10 kph and is expected to be 210 km east of Casiguran, Aurora on Saturday and 130 km east northeast of Tuguegarao City on Sunday.
On Monday, the storm should be in the vicinity of Calayan and the Babuyan group of islands and 190 km Northwest of Basco, Batanes on Tuesday.
The weather bureau raised public storm warning signal no. 1 over Isabela and Cagayan, including the Babuyan group of islands, with 30 to 60 kph winds expected in 36 hours.
Estimated rainfall will be moderate to heavy within the 400-kilometer diameter of the tropical storm, the weather bureau said.
Fishermen and small sea craft are advised not to venture out over the eastern seaboard of Central Luzon, seaboards of Southern Luzon and Visayas and the northern and eastern seaboards of Mindanao. Waves are expected to reach a height of 1.25 to 4.0 meters in open sea.
Residents in low-lying and mountainous areas of the Bicol region and Samar provinces are alerted against possible flash floods and landslides.