City, province on alert for water level rise

CEBU, Philippines - With the onset of the rainy season, the Cebu City government is on alert for possible overflowing of rivers and urged for vigilance from barangay officials.

“Yes (we are monitoring). For surveillance atong mga rivers karon,” said Cebu City Rivers Management Council (CCRMC) Chairman Jose Daluz III.

Simeon Romarate, executive director of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), also called on barangay officials to always be on alert especially during a downpour.

“Ang mga kapitan sa ilang mga barangay ang motawag namo kon maglisod na sila. Sila man ang nakahibaw sa ilang mga lugar,” Romarate said.

For now, he said, the water levels in rivers here are normal. He assured that CCDRRMO personnel are always on alert for possible untoward incidents.

The city also encouraged the public to be updated on weather forecasts.

Alvin Santillana, operations chief of CCDRRMO, earlier urged residents living in danger zones to identify areas where they could move if rivers near them overflow.

“Don’t wait for the city to remove you from where you are now kay ang siyudad has to cater to a lot of problems. Basin unya dili mi makaabot unya ma-unhan mi,” he said.

Monitoring is also conducted by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office as Capitol is on blue alert status.

“We are in blue alert right now because of that rainfall advisory sa PAGASA. Pasabot ani is mag-monitor lang sa areas nga naay pagsaka sa tubig,” PDRRMO Executive Officer Wilson Ramos said.

Under the partial activation status (blue alert), primary or lead staff members of the PDRRMO are required to implement an alert duty system and all field personnel and assets should be on stand-by and pre-positioned for “easy” deployment.

He advised that precautionary measures should be taken by those who are in landslide-prone areas like Balamban town near the Transcentral Highway, City of Naga, and flood-prone areas in Consolacion, Liloan and Naga. –/JMO (FREEMAN)