DAMAGED SCHOOLS. The Department of Education (DepEd) shows the situation of flood-hit schools in Tabo-o Elementary School in Misamis Occidental in this undated photo. The DepEd said 42 schools were reported to have sustained damage from heavy rains and flooding due to shear line and low pressure area. (Photo courtesy of DepEd)
MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday the estimated cost of repairing and constructing schools damaged by recent flooding and heavy rains across the country has now reached PHP409 million.
In a Viber message, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said 42 schools have sustained infrastructure damage.
These include a school in the Zamboanga Peninsula, 30 schools in Northern Mindanao and 11 in the Caraga Region.
According to the DepEd-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, some schools in Misamis Occidental have also been affected by the bad weather.
Several tables and chairs were left scattered in mud following the flood due to heavy rains brought by the shear line and low pressure area.
Poa, meanwhile, vowed to assist these schools, through disaster interventions.
“The schools that are unsafe to operate due to infra (infrastructure) damage, we will provide temporary learning spaces,” he told the Philippine News Agency.
Likewise, he said schools that are affected by the halt of in-person classes will temporarily use alternative delivery modes for learners.
As of now, seven schools are being used as evacuation sites in Siargao, Surigao del Norte, and in Oroquieta City. (PNA)
