CEBU, Philippines - A five-year-old girl from Bato, barangay Ermita, who went out of the house to play in the rain instead met her death yesterday afternoon when she drowned in a nearby river.
Mekyla Sol Bedolido was prounced dead on arrival at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) around 1:45 p.m. Reports said that Bedolido was found floating by a group of people, who rushed her to the hospital. Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council Chief Gerardo Carillo said that the girl fell off the waters.
Carillo said they will still try to investigate what really happened because the report that reached CDCC was not well detailed.
He said that they will also try to determine who are liable in the incident, whether the parents for negligence or other reasons. Yesterday’s heavy rain also affected residents in different sitios of barangay Guadalupe where a landslide and the overflowing of a river were reported.
The Banawa River reportedly overflowed around 1:30 in the afternoon affecting the whole Francisca Village with 30 to 40 households, Carillo said.
The water however subsided shortly after the rain stopped mid afternoon so the residents did not bother to leave the area.
Carillo said they have already advised them to take extra precautions especially after learning that it is always a problem in the area during heavy downpour.
Officials of the place were already ordered to check the drainage system, which might be the reason for the overflow. A landslide, meanwhile, reportedly hit a portion of sitio Tipolo of the same barangay.
Four families were evacuated and currently staying at the barangay hall for their temporary shelter.
PAGASA Warning
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) advised those living near the rivers to start evacuating to safer ground as heavy rains experienced in Cebu for these past few days may cause flashfloods.
Weather satellites continue to monitor heavy clouds engulfing the whole region which may mean more rainy days this week. As of the press time, a low pressure area (LPA) was estimated at 290 kilometers east of Visayas embedded along the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao according to Pagasa-7.
Weather forecaster Quillano Torregosa said that it is possible that the region will continue to experience scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms for the next days.
Those living in landslide and flashflood-prone areas must start evacuating now especially that the weather bureau in Manila expects the LPA to become a tropical depression. Torregosa said that this kind of weather might be experienced until July or later part of June. The public is told to always be on alert and prepared for this kind of situation.
The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council meanwhile is conducting tight watch in different rivers in the region which are prone to overflow due to heavy rains.
Residents living along Ginabsan river, Mananga river, Car-car, Lahug, Bulacao, Kinalunsan and Butuanon river in Mandaue were already advised to take extra precautions.
Transcentral Highway Cleared
The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council, on the other hand said that the road in barangay Malubog in the Transcentral Highway is already cleared from the rocks and soil after continuous rain caused a part of the land to collapse and land in the middle of the road.
Alvin Santillana of CCDCC said that the blocked part of the Transcentral Highway was already attended to and vehicles could pass the road.
Santillana said that there is no problem already in the area but they are still continuously monitoring the place due to the heavy downpour.
No one was reported hurt, said Santillana because the place where the landslide happened was uninhabited. — AJ de la Torre/BRP (THE FREEMAN)