New LPA spotted; bad weather causes flooding, landslides in Cebu

CEBUANOS woke up to incessant heavy rains on Monday due to the tail-end of a cold front and a new low pressure area spotted at 130 kilometers west of Cotabato City, Maguindanao as of 10 a.m. Monday.

An orange heavy rainfall warning was issued for Cebu, Bohol and Negros provinces as of 12 p.m. Monday by state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration (Pagasa).

The warning means that low-lying areas are threatened by flooding and mountainous areas by landslides.

Pagasa also warned of moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and the rest of the Visayas.

The bad weather Monday resulted in the drowning of a four-year-old girl in Barangay Patag, Naga City, which is around 20 kilometers south of Cebu City.

The girl, identified as Aileen Rose Paquit, drowned after she was swept away by flash flood.

In Barangay Lutac, also in Naga, an elementary pupil was also reportedly carried away by flash flood. Search and rescue operation are ongoing, said the Cebu Provincial Government on Facebook.

Heavy flooding was also reported in Barangay Tinaan, still in Naga City.

In Cebu City, quick response teams of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council were deployed to flooded urban areas and sites of landslides in upland areas.

Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City disaster council, said in a Facebook post that as of 8:30 a.m. Monday, January 16, landslides have been reported in the following upland areas: Sitio Kan-irag, Barangay Sirao; Sitio Lupa, Barangay Sapangdaku; Sitio Tabok Metropolis Sub, Barangay Pit-os; Sitio Grahe, Barangay Busay; back of Barangay Binaliw Barangay Hall; and lower portion of Barangay Agsungot.

As of 11 a.m., the landslide in Sitio Lupa in Barangay Sapangdaku has been cleared and the road is already passable, Bañacia said.

A landslide incident was also reported in Barangay Olango in Aloguinsan, Cebu, while heavy flooding was monitored in Barangays Esperanza, Bojo, and Tampaan in the same town.

The flooding in Barangays Esperanza and Bojo were due to rise in water level, while that in Barangay Tampaan was due to overflowed spillway.

Local government unit personnel have been conducting clearing operations, as of this posting. (SunStar Philippines)