MANILA: State weathermen on Sunday warned a new weather disturbance entered the Philippines and could bring floods and landslides over wide areas in Mindanao and the Visayas still recovering from the devastation wrought by two earlier successive storms.

Samuel Duran, the weather bureau forecaster, reported the low pressure area could strengthen into a tropical depression which would be given the local name of Agaton.

Based on their projections, Duran said Agaton could bring from moderate to heavy rain that could cause floods and landslides that killed more than 200 people and hundreds of others missing when tropical storms Kai-tak (local name Urduja) and Tembin (local name Vinta) wreaked havoc over wide areas of Mindanao and the Visayas within a week of each other in December.

Duran also said they could not determine the exact location where Agaton was projected to make landfall either in Mindanao or the Visayas at the latest on Jan.2

Agaton is also the first tropical cyclone to enter the Philippines and dampen preparations for the New Year by millions of residents although they have yet to recover from the disastrous visits of Kai-tak and Tembin in their areas.

“We are scared. We have not fully recovered because of Kai-tak and yet there are reports there is another possible storm coming to our place,” said Merlie Ningasca, 53, a mother of three, whose house was destroyed in the capital town of Naval of the island province of Biliran which was battered by Kai-tak.

Meanwhile, Mina Marasigan, the spokesman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), reported that all their regional office in Mindanao and the Visayas have been placed under “full alert” with the arrival of the new weather disturbance.

Marasigan said local officials have been ordered to implement pre-emptive or forced evacuation of residents living along danger areas threatened by floods and landslides.

The entry of Agaton also appeared to worsen the plight of close to 90,000 individuals or more than 18,000 famililes continued to stay in 99 evacuation centres in various areas in Mindanao, Marasigan lamented.