'La Nina' looms for Philippines

'La Nina' looms for Philippines

MANILA (AP): The Philippines, still reeling from the effects
of a severe drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, is
now bracing for floods from a La Nina that may follow, officials
said yesterday.

Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero said heavy rains from
the La Nina could begin in the last quarter of this year, which
is normally harvest season.

Flooding could threaten rice crops and the government is
encouraging farmers to plant early in order to harvest in the
third quarter of the year, Escudero said.

He said 23 provinces, many of them rice-growing areas, could
bear the brunt of the heavy rains and floods.