CEBU CITY -- Seven persons died as floods and landslides spawned by a low pressure area (LPA) and the tail-end of a cold front hit parts of the Visayas and Mindanao Monday.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA has dissipated but the tail-end of a cold front will continue to bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions.
In an advisory issued at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Pagasa advised residents in affected areas to stay alert against possible flash floods and landslides.
The bureau also issued at 5 a.m. Tuesday a gale warning for the seaboards of Visayas and Caraga, preventing fishing boats and small vessels from leaving port.
In Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental province in Mindanao, the death toll has risen to four with the recovery of the body of an octogenarian Tuesday morning.
Virgilio Turno, 84, was reported missing Monday afternoon. His body was found by a neighbor on Tuesday morning in the village of Bulua.
Rescuers also recovered the bodies of Zian Angel Montesino, 10, of the village of Awang in the town of Opol, Misamis Oriental, Monday evening; Rudy Boy Cabido, 14, in the village of Agusan on Tuesday morning; and Franklin Ociosbello, 59, of the village of Balulang, from the Cagayan de Oro City River Tuesday morning.
Local disaster officials said more than 5,000 individuals have fled their homes as floodwaters continued to rise Monday evening in what residents considered the worst flooding to hit Cagayan de Oro since Typhoon Sendong five years ago.
In Cebu, five-year-old Ailen Rose Paquit and 18-year-old Arvin Entroliso drowned Monday in Naga City, about 20 kilometers south of Cebu City. The girl was swept away by floodwaters while Entroliso was last seen alive fishing in a muddy swamp.
In Antique province, disaster officials said one person drowned in a flash flood that occurred in San Remigio town. The victim was not identified.
Classes remained suspended yesterday in elementary and secondary schools in Cebu province due to the bad weather. Bohol and Negros Oriental officials also cancelled classes Tuesday. (SunStar Philippines/PNA)