The Office of the Civil Defense is urging residents in flood and landslide prone areas to be more vigilant as continuing downpour brought about by the monsoon rains for their own safety.
The low pressure area that has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility yesterday has now been declared a storm named Jacinto and has brought rains in parts of the Visayas including in southern Negros Occidental where some local government units issued cancellation of classes for three days now.
However, while there were 12 LGUs in Negros Occidental that suspended classes last Wednesday, only Kabankalan City and the town of Ilog stayed their school suspension while the town of Hinoba-an declared half day of school only, and sent their students home yesterday afternoon.
But in Negros Oriental, OCD reported that nine localities declared suspension of classes.
OCD Negros Island Region Director, Donato Sermeno, III said “we need to intensify information dissemination especially during this time that we are experiencing continuous weather disturbance.”
He also appealed to the LGUs to put up signages in flood prone areas and zones prone to landslides so that both residents and commuters are warned of the dangers in traversing those areas.
An advisory from OCD issued by the weather bureau PAGASA showed that some parts of NIR are included in the heavy rainfall warning due to the effects of storm Jacinto and the Habagat.