Parents fetch their children at the Mabolo Elementary School after classes were suspended (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
Classes in province suspended; landslide areas under watch
Cebu province is placed under Code Red: Alert Charlie after it was placed on signal No. 1 by the state weather bureau Pagasa due to the arrival of Tropical Depression “Marce” yesterday.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III ordered the suspension of classes in all levels in all public schools in the province since yesterday until today.
The provincial government also advised private schools to suspend their classes.
In Cebu City, classes were ordered suspended in mountain barangays.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said school officials in non-landslide prone areas can order a suspension of their classes anytime.
Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., chief of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said Code Red: Alert Charlie means the province and its local governments were placed on minimum critical preparation.
“We based it in our protocol. In terms on rainfall, most likely Marce will not make landfall in Cebu but even without what we call severe potential impact, we want to prepare for it,” Tribunalo said.
Tribunalo said they alerted the local governments in the towns of Argao, Sibonga, Ginatilan, Samboan, Oslob, Aloguinsan, Badian and Alegria and the cities of Carcar and Naga in southern Cebu to prepare for Marce.
Tribunalo said while Marce may not be as strong as the other storms that hit Cebu in recent months, flash floods can occur in some parts of the province.
In Cebu City, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office identified Barangays Lusaran, Binaliw, Guba, Budlaan, Malubog, Buot, Busay, Sirao, Taptap, Adlaon, Tagba-o, Tabunan, Pung-ol Sibugay, Sudlon I, Sudlon II, Sinsin, Buhisan, Pamutan, and Sapangdaku as landslide-prone areas.
Nagiel Banacia, CDRRMO chief, said they contacted the Constructor’s Association for use of their heavy equipment in case of landslides.
In case of flooding, Osmeña said garbage collection will be confined to biodegradable wastes. “The danger if we don’t maintain that (garbage collection), we will have an epidemic,” he said.