Personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) clear the drainage at the North Reclamation Area along Pope John Paul II Avenue following a downpour on Monday. (CDN PHOTO/ JUJIE MENDOZA)
A typhoon will enter the country this afternoon but won’t affect the country as of yet, the state weather bureau Pagasa said yesterday.
The typhoon with the international name “Goni” was spotted 2,050 kilometers east of Central Luzon and packing maximum winds of 140 kph and gusts up to 170 kph.
At its speed of 20 kph and west northwest track, Goni is expected to cross the country later this afternoon. By then, it would be named “Ineng.”
Pagasa said the storm won’t directly affect the country until Friday or Saturday, when it draws near northern Luzon.
Landslide
Clouds and rain currently over the archipelago are due to the intertropical convergence zone which is mostly affecting the Visayas and Mindanao.
In Cebu City, classes in Busay Elementary School were suspended at noon yesterday and will remain under suspension today.
Barangay Busay Councilman Eliodoro “Yody” Sanchez said this was agreed on by barangay officials, the Cebu City Schools Division and the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) due to a landslide beside the barangay sports complex.
The complex housed the makeshift classrooms for Grade 1 up to Grade 6 pupils.
The pupils of Busay Elementary School were relocated due to the landslide at the back of the original school building in sitio lower Busay.
“Nabalaka mi kay basin dunay mas dako pa nga landslide nga mahimong motabon sa sports complex (We feared that there’s a bigger landslide that may hit the sports complex),” Sanchez said.
Upon inspection by DepEd and CCDRRMC personnel, they decided to suspend the classes starting at noon on Monday.
Sanchez said they also agreed to allow the pupils to return to the original school site in sitio lower Busay, where a newly constructed 2-story building with six classrooms was built far from the landslide area.
Sanchez said the city schools division office and the CCDRRMC will send engineers and carpenters to fix the old school building and transfer the blackboards and chairs there.
Sanchez said they will announce today if the pupils can resume their classes tomorrow.
Repairs
He said Cebu City Councilor Joy Tumulak planned to set up tent classrooms to accommodate more students.
In Mandaue City, rains flooded the streets at A.S. Fortuna St., J.P. Rizal, Ouano Avenue, Lopez Jaena St. and M.C. Briones.
Mandaue City disaster risk management officer Felix Suico Jr. said they will coordinate with the City Engineering Office, Department of General Services and the DPWH to declog canals./With Inquirer