Cebu’s dried-up water sources are starting to recover, says Pagasa

The downpour on May 14 catches some people unprepared but some saw it as a welcome respite from the summer heat. (CDN PHOTO / LITO TECSON)

There is now a bigger chance the rainfall in Cebu will normalize before the end of June and allow the water sources that were dried up by the El Niño weather phenomenon to begin to recover, the state weather bureau said.

As of June 11, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in Mactan has recorded 103.6 millimeters of rainfall.

Romeo Aguirre, Pagasa Mactan’s weather specialist, said the rainfall so far experienced was equivalent to 56 percent of Cebu’s average rainfall for June, which is 183.9 millimeters.

This means, he said, that the rainfall for June might reach normal or even beyond its average level since it is still midway through the month.

“The most amount of rains recorded for this month was on June 5 with 88 millimeters,” he told Cebu Daily News yesterday.

Cebu is expected to continue to experience rain this week due to the southwest monsoon, added Aguirre.

Last May, Pagasa Mactan also recorded above-normal volume of rainfall. From 106.3 millimeters of normal rainfall, the weather bureau record 166.1 millimeters.

The expected rains in the coming days, however, mean that residents should remain vigilant as the thunderstorm activities could “bring moderate to heavy rains that can cause floods and landslides,” Aguirre added.

Cebu was projected to experience rainy afternoons and evenings in the coming days, according to Aguirre.