When it rains, pray that it ends soon.
An hour’s worth of strong rain in
Cebu City can cause trouble in low-lying areas.
Yesterday’s downpour lasted from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. and the widespread flooding reached parts of the city and province that never used to go under water before.
The “new normal” in weather requires everyone to have a heightened awareness for coping with possible calamities.
It’s good that mayors in all metro cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay were quick to the draw in suspending classes early in the morning. The same happened for schools in Cebu province with an early declaration from the office of the governor.
This action alone reduced the danger of exposing children and older students to the chaos of submerged streets and stalled vehicles.
Metro Cebu was not completely caught flat-footed when an unusual volume of rain was dumped overnight.
If it’s any consolation, there were no lives lost, based on initial reports.
Records of the Mactan weather station of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) show that 60.7 millimeters of rain fell in Metro Cebu in a span of six hours.
How significant is this figure? Compared to the monthly average rainfall for the month of September, which is 179.6 mm, this volume is a a third of the average monthly rainfall.
With wacky weather and Climate Change, gone are the days when rainfall is purely a blessing to signal the start of the planting season.
The southwest monsoon or habagat used to come and go, an annual visitor. Now it conjures the specter of unpredictable damage.
Local governments now see why disaster risk reduction and management is a necessary part of governance.
Decisions and policies have to consider the impact and cost of not being prepared to handle natural and man-made surprises.
Building resilient communities requires no less than progressive and united action.
Unless we successfully adapt, every time it rains, we can only pray for those whose homes are in flood-prone and landslide-prone areas.
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