Mandaue prepares for LPA

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—The Mandaue City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MCDRRMO) is preparing for possible heavy rains due to the presence of a low pressure area (LPA).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 4 pm weather forecast on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, that the LPA was already in the vicinity of El Salvador City in Misamis Oriental.

PAGASA said moderate to heavy rain is expected in the whole Visayas and that flash floods and landslides are possible.

The weather bureau, though, said the LPA still has a low chance of becoming a typhoon or a tropical depression.

With this, Buddy Alain Ybañez, MCDRRMO head, said their personnel from the different clusters have been already deployed to monitor the city’s high-risk areas, especially those living near the rivers.

Ybañez said this was needed because all of their seven Early Warning Systems (EWS), which were damaged by super typhoon Odette last month, are still not functional.

The city’s  EWS allows the CDRRMO to monitor any change in the water level of the city’s creeks and rivers.

This system is also used to send alarms to the residents near riverbanks to warn them of the rising water level and if there is a need to evacuate.

The EWS has a camera, water level sensor, and siren all connected to the Command Center. 

Ybañez said the system has already been inspected and the damage has been assessed. He said the restoration will start very soon.

On Tuesday, gloomy weather prevailed over most parts of Metro Cebu due to the LPA.

Pagasa’s rainfall advisory issued at 6:13 p.m. on Tuesday said that light to moderate with occasional heavy rains was affecting central Cebu, and the eastern portion of Negros Oriental, which may continue for two to three hours.

/bmjo

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