MANILA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos suspended classes at all levels and government work in Metro Manila and six other provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a risk posed by the severe tropical storm Ma-on.
Aside from the capital region, Press Secretary Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles said the suspension covers the provinces of Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, Zambales, and Bataan in the Central Luzon region.
"The same course of action for private schools and offices is left to the discretion of their respective heads," Angeles said, citing "the heavy rains pose possible risks to the general public."
In a memorandum, Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez said the suspension excludes those government agencies involved in delivering essential health services and disaster response.
The state weather bureau said the severe tropical storm Ma-on made landfall in the northern Philippine Isabela province at around 10:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, unleashing rain and strong winds.
The bureau said Ma-on was blowing maximum winds of 110 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 185 kilometers per hour nearly four hours after hitting land as it moved north-northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour.
The bureau warned the public to stay vigilant, saying the storm will bring "intense with at times torrential rains" and can trigger "scattered to widespread flooding, including flash floods, and rain-induced landslides" in the northern Luzon areas and the rest of the main island.
Over 500 residents in low-lying areas in northern Luzon have been evacuated, a government disaster-monitoring agency said. The agency has monitored three landslides and flooding in two regions, making roads and bridges impassable. There have been no reported casualties so far.
The weather bureau said Ma-on will continue generally moving northwestward and is forecast to traverse northern Luzon on Tuesday night.
Ma-on is the sixth tropical cyclone to hit this Southeast Asian country this year. On average, this archipelagic country experiences 20 typhoons every year, some of which are intense and destructive.
In April, the tropical storm Megi hit the Philippines and triggered landslides and flooding, leaving 224 people dead and 147 others missing. Enditem
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