Tropical depression nears PH, flash flood risk

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported cloudy skies with scattered rain showers over extreme Northern Luzon on Friday.

A tropical depression is located 955 kilometers west of northern Luzon, moving northwest at 10 km/h with maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h and gusts up to 55 km/h. The system will be named Butchoy if it enters the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).

Batanes and Babuyan Islands are experiencing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to a frontal system, potentially leading to flash floods or landslides.

Metro Manila and other parts of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms on Friday, posing risks for flash floods or landslides during severe storms.

According to PAGASA, around 13 to 18 tropical cyclones are expected to hit the Philippines this year, below the average number of typhoons that normally enter PAR annually.