Another LPA to dump more rain in Cebu

AFTER the knee-to-waist-deep flooding experienced in some parts of Cebu due to the trough of a low pressure area (LPA) last Thursday, Cebuanos are told to brace for another round of wet weather this weekend.

Engr. Alfredo Quiblat Jr., chief of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Visayas, said another LPA has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and will bring cloudy skies and scattered rains in the Visayas and Mindanao on Saturday.

Quiblat said the trough of the new LPA will bring light to moderate and heavy rains in the Visayas
today, Saturday.

“Ang katong low pressure area nga grabing uwan gahapon (Thursday) kay nahilis na siya pero naay nipuli,” Quiblat told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview on Friday.
(The LPA that brought heavy rains on Thursday had dissipated but there is another LPA that has entered the PAR.)

The new LPA was spotted about 317 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, at 3 p.m. on Friday.

In response, Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has maintained its blue alert status in preparation for the possible effect of the weather disturbance.

Julius Regner, information officer of the PDRRMO, said they would continue to monitor their counterparts in the local DRRM offices in the municipalities.

Evacuation in Tuburan
As of yesterday, Regner said that 330 families or around 1,750 individuals were evacuated from three barangays in Tuburan town due to flooding.

“Flooding gyud na ang problema diha sukad pa sa una. Pero before kuyawan ta kay di mo-cooperate. Yesterday, from 5p.m. to 11 p.m., nagpatabang ta og military from the Asturias unit para sa pagpa-evacuate,” Regner told CDN.
(Flooding has been a perennial problem there. Before, we would get worried because residents were uncooperative. Yesterday, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., we got the help of the military from the Asturias unit to help them evacuate.)

He said that 10 uniformed personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines stationed in Asturias town came and brought one six-by-six truck, which they used to transport the residents from Barangays 6, 8 and Manga to two evacuation centers — the Manga Elementary School and the Cebu Technological University-Tuburan Campus.

The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), Regner said, has already brought yesterday food packs and 34 bags of rice for the evacuees’ supplies.

Last Thursday’s intense rain, which was brought by the trough of the previous LPA, also caused flooding in major streets in Cebu City and Mandaue City.

According to Quiblat, Pagasa Mactan station has recorded about 85 millimeters (mm) or about 425,000 drums of rainfall during the long 15 hours of rains on Thursday.

The first LPA dissipated late Thursday evening, Quiblat said.
“Mao ning systema ang makaapekto sa nasud labi na sa Visayas and Mindanao. Pero baba ra na mahimo ni siyang bagyo,” he said.
(This is the system that will affect Visayas and Mindanao. But there is a low chance that it will develop into a storm.)

Rain on Christmas Day
But while the new LPA has a slim chance of developing into a storm, Quiblat said that isolated rain showers may still be experienced from Sunday, December 23, until Christmas Day on Tuesday.

Quiblat also said temperature is expected to drop to as low as 23 degrees Celsius especially at dawn due to the prevailing northeast monsoon or Amihan and the incessant rains from the previous days.

He added that the average maximum temperature in Cebu is at 30 degrees Celsius and heat index of 35 to 36 degrees Celsius from midday until the afternoon.