ON THE afternoon of Wednesday, July 16, 2025, a relentless downpour battered Metro Cebu as tropical depression Crising, intensified by the enhanced southwest monsoon, swept across the region. In a matter of hours, streets turned into rivers.
Major thoroughfares linking Cebu City to the neighboring cities of Mandaue and Talisay disappeared under knee- to waist-deep floods, stranding thousands of commuters and causing massive gridlock. Public transport ground to a halt, leaving soaked workers, students and residents scrambling for shelter or wading home through the murky water.
The impact was widespread. Nineteen flooding incidents and three landslides were reported across Cebu City, Mandaue and Talisay, rendering 17 roads and a key bridge impassable. As the rains continued, the situation worsened.
By Thursday, July 17, local governments suspended classes in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay — as safety became the priority. Cebu City shifted to modular and asynchronous learning, ensuring education continued despite the disruption.
Then, on Friday, July 18, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council declared a state of calamity, unlocking emergency funds and fast-tracking relief efforts. Cleanup operations began, emergency teams were mobilized and officials turned their focus to long-term flood mitigation.
What began as a stormy afternoon had grown into one of Cebu’s most disruptive monsoon events in recent years, leaving the metro soaked, stalled and determined to recover.