Tropical storm Betty left the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Thursday afternoon, but would continue to induce the monsoon winds and rains or the habagat, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Betty, which entered PAR as a super typhoon, was last spotted 685 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes at 4 p.m., packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour and gusts of 115 kph, the state weather forecaster said.
In the next 24 hours, Betty is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat which 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, and Northern Samar, the PAGASA’s 5p.m. advisory stated.
The severe tropical storm was also expected to steadily weaken throughout the forecast period due to lower sea surface temperature of the sea surrounding the Ryukyu Islands.
In the next three days, Betty was expected to enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat, which will become “the dominant rain-causing system in the country”, PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. advisory.
The habagat will dump 50 to 100 mm or heavy rains over La Union, Benguet, Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, Aklan, Antique, and northern Palawan until Friday morning, PAGASA said.
Floods and landslides are possible, especially in areas which experienced rains over the past several days, PAGASA warned.
While Betty did not directly hit the Philippines, it affected some 8,200 families or 30,500 people, 1,039 of whom stayed in evacuation centers, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.