A man negotiates a shallow portion of a flooded street in Barangay Tisa in Cebu City after a heavy downpour on October 13, 2020. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – With rains expected in the coming days, Cebuanos, especially those living in areas prone to landslide and floods, are urged to take extra precautions.
This as Cebu City has remained on Monday, October 19, 2020, under ‘blue-alert’ due to prevailing bad weather.
“We’re under blue-alert since October 7, which means all off-duty personnel will be called to work in circumstances where they are needed,” said Ramil Ayuman, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), in a mix of English and Cebuano.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) is currently monitoring Tropical Depression Pepito which is expected to intensify into a Tropical Storm in the next days.
The state weather bureau, in its severe weather bulletin issued at 5 p.m. on Monday, spotted Pepito’s center 410 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes.
Pepito’s extensions will bring light to moderate with heavy rains in Central Visayas starting Monday, and will likely last until Tuesday morning, said Pagasa.
“Flooding (including flash floods) and rain-induced landslides may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards,” they added.
Ayuman said they have instructed all barangays in the city, particularly those in the hinterlands, to activate their disaster unit in order to respond to any possible eventualities due to the weather.
“The barangays play a crucial role in responding to calamities and disasters. This is why we’ve told them to activate their disaster and rescue unit – be alert and always on standby,” said Ayuman.
The CCDRRMO official also said heavy equipment from the city’s engineering office have been deployed to ‘strategic areas’ in case they will be needed to assist rescue and disaster teams in responding.
In the past few days, due to several weather systems which include the southwest monsoon (locally known as habagat) and low-pressure areas (LPA), most parts of Cebu experienced downpour that resulted in landslide and flash floods.
In Cebu City, it claimed the lives of at least three people, including a 14-year-old minor whose body was recovered nearly 48 hours after he was reported missing.
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Ayuman said Cebuanos should not take the recent incidents lightly and that these should serve as lessons for everyone to heed to warnings from experts and disaster teams.
“We should always be vigilant. If our barangay officials say it’s time for us to evacuate, please let us cooperate with their instructions,” he added in Cebuano.
/bmjo