MANILA, Philippines - The Palace said government agencies are prepared for the onslaught of tropical depression Auring.

“Our… SOP is to identify areas that will be hit by the path of the LPA [low-pressure area] and so we have pre-positioned goods already in those areas, and also the local government units have already been warned. I think our level of preparedness has improved, and the local government officials are more than aware of what they need to do in times of storm,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

He said that PAGASA is in the process of making weather forecasts and warnings more understandable to the public following the President’s instruction.

The state weather bureau earlier said the center of the tropical depression was located at 50 kilometers west of Dipolog City as of 10 a.m. It has maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and is moving west at 28 kph.

If Auring maintains its current speed and direction, it will be 180 kms southwest of Puerto Princesa by Friday morning, and will be out of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Friday evening.

The weather bureau said that they expect moderate to heavy rainfall (5-15 millimeters per hour) within the 250- km diameter of the tropical depression.

Public Storm Warning Signal Number 1 has been declared over the following areas:

* Palawan
* Southern part of Negros
* Siquijor Island
* Lanao del Norte
* Lanao del Sur
* Misamis Occidental
* Zamboanga del Norte
* Zamboanga del Sur
* Zamboanga Sibugay