THANKS to incessant calls for people to move to safer grounds as heavy rains fell from Wednesday evening to early Thursday morning, Cebu scored zero fatalities, the head of the provincial disaster office said.
Baltazar Tribunalo, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), also gave credit to the people for cooperating with the authorities.
The decision of several mayors and Gov. Hilario Davide III to suspend classes in the morning also helped keep many out of harm’s way.
“If you noticed, classes were suspended even if we did not receive any (typhoon) warning. It was just rain. But we can’t be complacent. Nature can kill, too,” Tribunalo told Cebu Daily News.
Many areas in towns and cities in Metro Cebu were flooded due to heavy monsoon rains reinforced by tropical storm Mario which was then approaching northern Luzon.
Landslides and at least three tornado incidents were also reported at the time people were already tucked into evacuation centers.
There were no reported casualties or damage to property in Cebu’s second, third and fourth districts.
In barangay Lanas in the city of Naga in south Cebu, a landslide damaged the barangay hall. A landslide was also reported in San Remegio in north Cebu.
Flooding in Bogo City in the north prompted authorities to evacuate residents from at least seven barangays.
At least 255 people were brought to the Don Celestino Martinez Sports Complex where they were given food and medical care.
The bridge in barangay Guadalupe was impassable since yesterday due to a damaged foundation.
A bridge in Medellin town in north Cebu sustained minor damage as residents of barangay Poblacion were also evacuated from their homes to the public market due to flooding.
A big rock fell on the Transcentral Highway in Balamban town, blocking one lane early morning Thursday.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) immediately cleared the debris.
In Talisay City, a boulder nearly crushed the house of an elderly couple in Camp 4 at dawn yesterday.
Talisay City Councilor Danny Caballero said they learned about the incident when they went to inspect the landslide-prone barangay Manipis and found two big rocks blocking the road.
“As we further checked the area, there was another big rock that almost hit the house of the elderly couple,” Caballero said.
He said the couple, Vicente, 84 and Julia Marayan, were asleep when the 5-ton rock tumbled down and nearly crushed the house.
Their daughter, Lionesa Marayan Cabiles, 43 said they initially thought there was a vehicular accident after they heard a loud crash at around 4 a.m.
“We thought a truck fell off the cliff,” she said, adding that the rock swerved from its path that would have led straight to the couple’s house.
The rockslide uprooted at least 10 trees that were on the path of the boulders.
A City Hall engineering team with the help of QM Builders, the contractor of the Manipis road project, removed the rocks and debris from the road. /with correspondents Michelle Joy L. Padayhag and Gabriel C. Bonjoc