A low pressure area (LPA) moving toward Mindanao may possibly bring rains that can trigger flashfloods and landslides in the region, state weather forecasters said on Wednesday.

The weather disturbance, which could turn into the country’s first typhoon for 2013, was spotted east of Mindanao and has entered the Philippine area of responsibility before noon Wednesday.

Weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA is expected to bring moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms in Mindanao and in the provinces of Samar and Leyte.

Aurelio said that the LPA has a chance to become a tropical cyclone. Once it develops into a typhoon, it will be named Auring.

But if the LPA will make landfall on Thursday morning in the boundary of Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental, it will not develop into a typhoon and will eventually weaken.

Pagasa also warned residents of Mindanao provinces hit hard by Typhoon Pablo (international codename: Bopha) last December.

In a special weather forecast, Pagasa said that Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley may experience heavy rains (5 millimeters to 15 millimeters per hour) today.

Winds, Pagasa added, will be light to moderate with slight to moderate seas.