A low pressure area which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) early Sunday is forecast to develop into a tropical depression with its movement going across the Visayas starting tomorrow.
Yesterday, vessels bound for Dumaguete City suspended their trips due to strong waves.
The weather disturbance will be called “Agaton”if it develops into the first storm which will traverse the PAR in 2018.
Philippine PAGASA projected Agaton to follow the path of Tropical Storm Vinta which entered Northern Mindanao and traveled towards the Zamboanga Peninsula.
It is expected to landfall either late today or early tomorrow morning.
The disaster risk reduction and management councils and local government units in Zamboanga Peninsula and Muslim Mindanao regions are bracing for Agaton while most of its areas are still reeling from the devastation of Vinta (international name: Tembin).
While closely monitoring the prevailing low-pressure area east of Mindanao, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) issued a gale warning advisory over seaboards of northern, eastern and central Luzon.
The gale warning that also covered eastern and southern seaboards of Southern Luzon and the eastern and western seaboards of the Visayas automatically makes sea travel of small water craft risky if not highly dangerous.
NDRRMC executive director and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) administrator Ricardo Jalad said with the gale force warning, the waters around Batanes, Babuyan, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela and Aurora provinces will be rough to be very rough.
The same sea condition will also prevail over the seawaters in the Camarines provinces, Catanduanes, eastern coast of Albay, eastern coast of Sorsogon, eastern coast of Quezon including Polilio Island, Northern and Eastern Samar and Mindoro Oriental