Officials of the various Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Offices have urged the public to be on alert amid the onslaught of the rainy days brought about by two weather systems affecting the country.
Allen Cabaron, the Dumaguete City DRMMO, told reporters that the public should always monitor the weather condition from the correct source, which is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), which releases regular weather bulletins to the media.
Cabaron said that even as Tropical Depression Kabayan had weakened into a Low-Pressure Area, the northeast monsoon and the shearline are responsible for the rains experienced in Dumaguete, and generally in Negros Oriental.
“We are always preparing for that because storms usually pass by our part of the country during the ‘-ber’ months,” he said.
The CDRRMO personnel are always prepared because even when there is no typhoon, we have thunderstorms or Low-Pressure Areas, Cabaron added.
Meanwhile, Bais City had been on alert since last week. Officials of the Bais CDRRMO had been monitoring the water levels of the Tamogong River, for any sign of abnormality.
The Tamogong River overflowed at the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in December 2021, causing widespread destruction and the loss of lives. A total of 73 people were killed by that storm in Negros Oriental.
The Bais City CDRRMO had sent advisories to residents living along the riverbank to prepare for any evacuation order should the rains continue.
The PAG-ASA has predicted that there could still be two or three storms that may hit the Philippines this year.
Because of the north winds, the typhoons are usually blown southward, in the direction of the Visayas and Mindanao.
Gov. Chaco Sagarbarria issued an announcement Thursday suspending classes in all public and private pre-school, elementary, and high schools in Negros Oriental on Friday due to the projection by PAG-ASA of continuous rains until Sunday.
However, even the scientific instruments used by PAG-ASA got the weather prediction wrong, as Negrenses woke up to a sunny Friday morning. (AP)
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Photo Caption: Personnel of the Bais City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office continue preparations for any disaster in this file photo as rains kept pounding Negros Oriental these past few days. (Bais CDDRM photo)
