RAINY SATURDAY/JUNE 2, 2018: A DPWH personnel tries to clear the garbage on T. Padilla/Tejero creek brought by heavy rain. Garbage greatly contributes clogging to darinage system that causes flodding in some areas in Cebu City experience a flooding cause by a heavy rain on Saturday June 2, 2018, Pag-asa Mactan warm the public about other risk that comes with rains that may cause landslides, floodings and storm surges. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
It was not yet officially the start of the rainy season, but portions of Cebu City were flooded yesterday due to intermittent downpour.
While no one was reported hurt, the floods created a gridlock especially in the affected areas.
The state-run weather bureau said the bad weather on Saturday was caused by a low pressure area which might develop into a tropical depression by Sunday.
Although intermittent, the rains started about 8 a.m. on Saturday. An hour later, water level in several areas in Cebu City started to rise.
Nagiel Bañacia, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), said floodwaters reached up to knees in Lower Sindulan and several portions of M. J. Cuenco Avenue in Barangay Mabolo as well as in Sitio Cogon in Barangay Basak-Pardo.
Ankle-level water was reported on T. Padilla Street, some areas of the North Reclamation Area (NRA), and in Barangay Poblacion Pardo.
While the water subsided around 20 minutes in some areas, floods still caused heavy traffic in the affected areas.
His office directed the Quick Response Team (QRT) to monitor and assist commuters who were stranded, he added.
“But the water subsided a few minutes after and traffic resumed back to normal. But nevertheless, we have instructed our QRT and fire volunteers, down to the barangay level, to be on alert,” said Bañacia.
Despite the intermittent rains, both the CCDRRMO and its counterpart in the province didn’t receive any reports of landslide.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) also didn’t receive reports of floods in the province.
Yesterday’s rains didn’t mean that the rainy season had officially started, according to Engr. Al Quiblat, head of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) station on Mactan Island.
He said the rains on Saturday were caused by an existing Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and a low pressure area (LPA) near Mindanao.
Quiblat said Pagasa might declare a start of the rainy season between June and June 14.
“But our agency has already issued a severe rainfall warning for Metro Cebu. This means that we are likely to experience light to moderate and scattered rains which may bring about floods and possibly, minor landslides,” said Quiblat.
Based on weather advisory issued by Pagasa about 11 a.m. on Saturday, an LPA was spotted 380 km east of Surigao City in Surigao del Sur.
Quiblat said there was a high probability that the LPA would develop into a tropical depression on Sunday.
“Our current model forecasts showed that it would not pass directly in Central Visayas, and it would not make any landfall. But it would definitely bring rains in the Visayas and Mindanao,” he explained.
But even if the LPA was not expected to directly hit Cebu, Pagasa-Mactan said it would bring isolated rain showers, with light to moderate rains, and thunderstorms in the next three days.
“Today (Sunday), the weather would be mostly cloudy with light to moderate rain showers. And on Monday, it would be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms, and it would likely remain until Wednesday,” said Van Singson, weather specialist of Pagasa-Mactan.
Cebu would experience an average of 190 mm of rainfall while one or two tropical storms would enter the country during the month of June.
The Pagasa-Mactan recorded 33.1 mm of rainfall from June 1 to 9 a.m. on Saturday.
In the meantime, the CCDRRMO advised residents in Cebu City to throw their trash properly to prevent these from clogging the drainage which could trigger floods.
“The floods we experienced was mainly attributed to the fact that our trash was clogging the drainage system. So when it rained, even if the downpour was just brief, it would definitely result to flooding,” said Bañacia.
The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) also advised the public to be on the lookout for diseases that usually occurred during the rainy season.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 director, said viral illnesses like coughs, flu and colds were usually prevalent during the wet season.
“So the people should be equipped with the proper protective gear such as boots, umbrellas, jackets (to protect themselves from the rain),” he said.