Maguindanao flooding (Photo by ARMM-HEART)
COTABATO CITY – Classes for kindergarten and elementary levels, both in public and in private schools, were suspended Tuesday due to heavy downpour.
This was announced by Aniceto Rasalan, secretary to City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, Tuesday morning, adding that the local chief executive suspended the classes to ensure the school children's safety. Classes for high school and tertiary level in the city were unaffected.
Rasalan cited a weather bulletin from PAGASA indicating the city will experience moderate to heavy downpour brought about by Low Pressure Area (LPA) embedded along with Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) spotted at 795 km east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte.
PAGASA also said the weather disturbance is still expected to develop into a Tropical Depression anytime and will be called “Domeng.”
In nearby Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao, classes were also suspended in several low-lying public schools due to waist-deep waters.
Still in Maguindanao, at least 7,000 individuals remained in safe zones since Monday after torrential rains flooded five remote villages in Sultan Mastura town.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) in Sultan Mastura also reported that some 200 farm animals, comprised of carabaos, cows, goats, and chickens, perished in flash floods that hit the area. The Sultan Mastura MDRRMO is yet to determine the total damage brought by the floods. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
