Cebu City Under State of Calamity Due to Floods

(PNA) — The Cebu City Council has declared the entire city under a state of calamity, following the flooding in many areas in the city on Thursday.

The heavy rains starting Wednesday night and the flash floods prompted city official to suspend classes in all levels in both public and private schools Thursday.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in the streets and were ferried by city-owned buses and military trucks.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Mactan Station Chief Oscar Tabada said the rainfall from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Thursday accumulated 60 millimeters of water, the highest rainfall recorded this month.

The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the Cebu City Government to undertake emergency flood control projects.

Rivers will be dredged while creeks, drainage systems and other waterways will be declogged as a temporary solution to the flooding problem.

Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, who chairs the council’s committee on social services, said dredging and declogging waterways can address the problem but these will only be temporary solutions.

He said that the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) may charge the projects to the Php200-million lump sum appropriation for drainage projects this year.

The city has yet to determine how much these projects would cost.

The heavy rains also caused flooding in the nearby cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and several towns in Cebu.

Landslides were also reported in Balamban town in western Cebu, Talisay City and Naga City in southern Cebu. (PNA) FPV/EB