Heavy rains bring floods to Cebu villages

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines  – Heavy rains triggered flash floods in low-lying communities here and in Cebu City and elsewhere in Central Visayas yesterday.

In Barangay Subangdaku here, residents helplessly watched as a woman was swept by floodwaters along the Mahiga Creek. Local leaders said the woman, in her 30s, could be carried toward the Mactan Channel where the creek empties into.

At least four children as well as 35 pupils and 26 teachers of the Guizo Elementary School were rescued as the floodwaters reached as high as two meters in certain areas.

In Cebu City, flooding was reported in several areas at the North Reclamation Area.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo yesterday urged local officials in Central Visayas, particularly in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, to extend assistance to the flood victims.

Heavy flooding and a massive landslide were also reported in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte, forcing the evacuation of residents from 21 villages.

Meanwhile, the state weather bureau yesterday advised fishermen in Luzon and the Visayas not to venture into the seas due to big waves associated with the surge of the northeast monsoon.

In an advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said mostly cloudy skies with light rains would prevail over the seaboards of Northern and Central Luzon in the next 24 hours.

Sea conditions in these areas would be rough to very rough with waves as high as 3.7 to five meters, it said.