EMERGENCY response personnel use rubber boats to evacuate pupils in Barangay Guizo, Mandaue City after water rose on Thursday, July 30. (Bantay Mandaue Facebook)
CEBU CITY – Classes were suspended while work at local government units (LGUs) ended early after Metro Cebu was flooded anew on Friday, July 31.
The suspension came after Yellow Heavy Rainfall Warning was raised over Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Cordova, Talisay City, Minglanilla, Toledo City, Balamban, Danao City, and Asturias.
The rest of Cebu remained under a rainfall advisory for light to moderate rains with occasional heavy downpours expected to persist for two to three hours.
Heavy rains caused widespread flooding across Cebu City and neighboring areas for the past few days.
Pagasa-Visayas said non-stop rains were not caused by a major weather disturbance but by localized thunderstorms, a common occurrence during the peak of the rainy season.
The incessant rains will continue in the next few days, the Pagasa-Visayas advised.
Around 2 p.m. on Friday, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) reported flooding in several parts of the city.
A riprap collapsed in one of the barangays but the extent of the damage has yet to be determined.
Last Thursday, 16 areas in Cebu City were inundated by heavy rains, prompting emergency evacuations after loodwaters reached chest-deep in some communities.
As heavy rains continued on Friday, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival directed the early dismissal of classes in all public and private schools based on the
recommendation of the CCDRRMO.
In Talisay City, Mayor Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Gullas recommended an early dismissal in all public schools after coordinating with the CDRRMO and the Department of Education.
The municipality of Medellin also ordered early dismissal of classes in both public and private schools.
In Mandaue City, students of Mayor A.S. Fortuna Memorial Elementary School were sent home Friday morning after school officials suspended face-to-face classes due to heavy rains that began around 10 a.m.
Parents were called to pick up their children.
Last Thursday, students in Baranga Guizo, Mandaue had to be evacuated using rubberboats by personnel of the CDRRMO after the waters rose quickly.
Authorities continued to advise the public to closely monitor official weather bulletins and heavy rainfall warnings and remain alert for possible flooding and landslides.