WITH the onset of rainy season, Cagayan de Oro residents are advised to take necessary precautions to deal with heavy rainfall and thunderstorms that may hit Northern Mindanao area due to Intertropical Convergence Zone.
Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) weather monitoring chief Cindy Sabanal said thunderstorms all over the city and its neighboring towns are to be expected for the entirety of the month.
Sabanal said the inter-tropical convergence zone or the trade winds may cause isolated but heavy thunderstorms in many areas in the city, expectedly from late afternoon until late in the evening.
The CDRRMO monitoring team considered Barangay Kauswagan, Barangay Consolacion and Villarin street among the city areas prone to heavy urban flooding.
"Kanina actually, ang among team nag-conduct na og cleaning sa lain lain nga parts diha sa Claro M. Recto avenue. Kani man gud nga mga areas ang naay dako kaayo nga chance na magbaha dayon sa gamay nga rainfall or ang ginatawag nato nga urban flooding. Pero padayon gihapon mi sa pag-monitor sa Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) sa mga advisories nila sa atong weather. (Earlier, our team has conducted cleaning in the different parts of Claro M. Recto avenue. These places have the higher chances of flooding even with just a small amount of rainfall or what we call the urban flooding. But we continue to monitor the weather advisories of Pagasa about our weather)," Sabanal said.
Sabanal, however, said that the flood monitoring devices being placed in some flood-prone areas in the city have been inspected and are fully functional.
"Kini nga mga devices nagmonitor ni sila ug baha sa ani nga mga area. So if ever taas na ang tubig, makapadala ra `mi og text messages sa mga reisdente nga mulikas na dayon. (The devices are made to monitor these areas. So if ever the water level is high, we can send text messages to the residents to inform them to evacuate)," she explained.
Other affected municipalities of the thunderstorms around Cagayan de Oro city include the municipalities of Naawan, Manticao, Lugait, Alubijid, Opol, Jasaan, Villanueva, Balingoan, Talisayan, and the city of El Salvador in Misamis Oriental.