'Carina' damages 45 schools, disrupts upcoming school opening

MANILA, Philippines — At least 45 public schools across the Philippines have been damaged during the onslaught of Supertyphoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) enhanced by the southwest monsoon, impacting teachers’ and students’ preparations for the school opening five days from now.

The Department of Education on Wednesday said that as of 11 a.m., the estimated cost of the school damages so far tally to at least P308.5 million.

The 45 schools that sustained damages from the torrential rains are spread across eight regions, namely CAR, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4-A, Region 4-B, Region 6 Region 8.

The combined effects of the tropical storm and the southwest monsoon dumped a record amount of rainfall on Wednesday, triggering emergency rescue operations as floodwater submerged houses and sinked vehicles in major thoroughfares.

Metro Manila has been placed under a state of calamity.

Based on PAGASA’s latest forecast, heavy rainfall in Luzon is expected to continue until Friday, while Carina is projected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Thursday morning and make its final landfall in Taiwan. 

Calls to shift to the traditional academic calendar came after teachers and students expressed health concerns with holding classes during the hot months of March to May. However, climate advocates have warned that extreme weather events remain a year-round threat.

In the previous school year, at least 32 teaching days or a month’s worth of class instruction were lost due to climate-related events, including the soaring temperatures that scorched the Philippines during the dry season, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies

Calls to shift to the traditional academic calendar came after teachers and students expressed health concerns with holding classes during the hot months of March to May. However, climate advocates have warned that extreme weather events remain a year-round threat.

In the previous school year, at least 32 teaching days or a month’s worth of class instruction were lost due to climate-related events, including the soaring temperatures that scorched the Philippines during the dry season, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies

RELATED: The cost of climate disruptions: Philippines loses 32 teaching days to extreme weather

DepEd said on Wednesday that at least 21 schools from NCR and Region IV-A are being used as evacuation centers for families affected by the typhoon.