MANILA — A low pressure area (LPA) could stir heavy rains and unleash floods and landslides in vast swaths of the country this week, the state weather bureau said on Tuesday.

The LPA, which entered the Philippine area of responsibility early Tuesday, was spotted 425 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur at 10 a.m. It is unlikely to become a storm in the next 24 hours, said PAGASA.

However, the LPA will bring moderate to heavy with at times intense rains over Sorsogon, Masbate, Eastern Visayas, Dinagat Islands, Surigao Del Norte, Surigao Del Sur, and Agusan Del Norte until Wednesday, the weather agency warned.

It added that light to moderate with at times heavy rains would hit Agusan Del Sur, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, the rest of Bicol Region and the Visayas.

"Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible," PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. advisory.

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Weather forecaster Veronica Torres said the LPA is unlikely to affect northern parts of the Philippines, which are hoping for a continuous harvest of onions to bring down the commodity's soaring prices in the country.

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"Sa ngayon medyo nananatiling mababa yung tsansa na magpapaulan siya dito sa may bandang north Luzon dahil--so nakikita natin mostly mas didikit ito sa bandang Mindanao area at may tsansa na maaaring manatili siya doon or maaaring mag-cross siya sa may bandang Mindanao po," she told TeleRadyo.

(For now it has a low probability of bringing rains to north Luzon--we see it mostly sticking to Mindanao or crossing Mindanao.)

For updates, visit the ABS-CBN Weather Center.

— With a report from Ariel Rojas, ABS-CBN News