Typhoon Obet has left the Philippines’ area of responsibility, but the state weather bureau warns it will keep feeding the southwest monsoon, or habagat, and soaking parts of Luzon for days.
As of 3 a.m., the storm, known internationally as Saudel, was about 1,180 kilometres east-northeast of the northern tip of Luzon, with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometres per hour and gusts of the same strength, according to PAGASA. Even at that distance, it is enhancing the habagat enough to dump meaningful rain over the coming days.
The bureau expects 50 to 100 millimetres of rainfall, roughly two to four inches, across a rolling list of areas. Benguet, La Union and Pangasinan are in line on Tuesday; Zambales and Bataan join on Wednesday; and Occidental Mindoro is added on Thursday. Sustained rain of that kind raises the risk of flooding and landslides in vulnerable spots.
Forecasters are also tracking a second system. Tropical depression Atsani was spotted about 1,760 kilometres east of northern Luzon, packing winds of 55 kilometres per hour with gusts to 70, and is being monitored for its future track.
The practical message is that a storm leaving the country’s watch area does not mean the weather clears. A distant typhoon can still pull moisture across the archipelago, and the habagat it strengthens often does more day-to-day damage, through steady flooding, than the storm’s own winds.
