''Betty'' leaves PAR, says Pagasa
Severe Tropical Storm "Betty" left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Thursday afternoon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Weather forecaster Veronica Torres said as of 4 pm ''Betty'' was seen at 685 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes.
Torres said "it has maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kilometers per hour. It is moving north northeastward at 15 kilometers per hour."
She said the southwest monsoon has become the main weather system.
''Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days,'' Pagasa said in its bulletin.
In the next 24 hours, Pagasa said the enhanced southwest monsoon ''will bring occasional to frequent wind gusts over northern Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Northern Samar and the northern portion of Samar.'' Eric Acidre/DMS
