Flooding in the Philippines

The fourth storm of the northwest Pacific typhoon season has brought flooding to the Philippines. The storm is called Tropical Storm Leepi, but is known locally as Emong.

The storm is actually located well to the northeast of the country at the moment, some 500km southwest of Okinawa. However, it has been drawing cloud and rain from the South China Sea. This feed of warm, moist air has resulted in heavy and persistent rain across much of the Philippines.

Many areas have received rainfall totals in the region of 50 to 100 mm a day for the last few days. Manila saw 82mm in one 24 hour spell, but some places have seen significantly more over the same time frame. The next few days will see further heavy showers, despite the fact that the storm is moving away.

The storm is currently tracking north at around 22 kph with sustained winds of 75 kph and gusts of around 95 kph. The winds are likely to be of this magnitude when it reaches Kyushi in southern Japan sometime on Friday after briefly strengthening.

These winds will not be too much of a concern when the storm does arrive in the region. The main issue here is that Japan is already experiencing a spell of very wet weather, and as Leepi moves north it is expected to join up with a passing cold front. This will enhance the rain here and is likely to lead to flash flooding across some areas in the south of the country.