Some of the at least 80 families living near the Sta. Filomena River in Barangay Poblacion in Sibonga town in southern Cebu left their houses after they were asked to evacuate the area when the river overflowed after an hour-long downpour, which started at past 3 p.m. and stopped at past 4 p.m. on Friday.
Damiano Osqueria, Sibonga Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (LDRRMO) head, said in a phone interview that the river overflowed flooding areas nearby with the water reaching to knee-high levels after the downpour.
Osqueria said some of the families left their houses near the river and temporarily stayed on higher ground along the nearby highway as a precaution if the water would continue to rise and for easier pickup if they would need to be evacuated to a public school at the Poblacion.
However, an hour later or at 5:30 p.m., the residents returned to their houses after the water level subsided.