MindanaoToday.com | 5 Cagayan de Oro barangays focused in flood monitoring due to ‘TD Kabayan’
By: Franck Dick Rosete
The local responders are monitoring the entire riverside communities in this city, but they are giving extra focus to five eastern barangays for possible flooding due to Tropical Depression “Kabayan.”
The said villages include the barangays Bugo, Puerto, Agusan, Cugman, and Tablon, as Kabayan, according to the weather state bureau’s forecast, is expecting to cross some parts of Bukidnon, Nick Jabagat, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD), told reporters on Monday, December 18.
Rainfalls from the towns of Malitbog, Libona, Manolo Fortich, and Baungon in Bukidnon, he said, could affect the five eastern barangays.
“The crucial part is that we still haven’t established our early warning devices, and we only rely on our rain gauges. So, we still have blind spots. That is why we intensify our coordination with the neighboring municipalities,” Jabagat said.
He added that the rain gauge in Manolo Fortich could only monitor a two-kilometer radius, but they have coordinated with their “spotters” or informers from the said municipalities to receive up-to-date monitoring as to the rainfall situation in their respective areas.
As of 1 p.m., December 18, Kabayan, with an international name of Jelawat, slightly weakened, and its center is estimated to be in the vicinity of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Kabayan made landfall over Barangay Concepcion, Manay town, Davao Oriental, around 9:30 a.m.
In addition, the Cagayan de Oro River along the bridges of Puntod, Pelaez, Cabula, and Uguiaban remains below alert level as of 1 p.m. on December 18.
Right after the city government’s pre-disaster assessment on Sunday night, December 17, the CDRRMD deployed its responders and rescue vehicles to be able to assist eastern barangay residents when heavy rainfall occurs.
City Mayor Rolando Uy issued Executive Order No. 420-2023, suspending the classes of both public and private pre-schools here. The local government has also coordinated with the billboard owners to remove tarpaulins from structures.
The entire Northern Mindanao region is placed under Signal No. 1, and as of writing, this city is experiencing light to moderate rains.
However, the CDRRMD chief urged residents, especially those from flood- and landslide-prone areas, to continuously monitor the weather conditions and abide by local authorities’ directives.
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