Flood alert up in Central Visayas, Caraga, Davao, Zamboanga regions

SEVERE flooding may threaten certain areas in 14 provinces in Central Visayas and Mindanao today, February 15.

The trough of the Low Pressure Area has been dumping moderate to heavy rainfall over large parts of Mindanao and Visayas since Monday.

Hydrologists from the state weather bureau Pagasa monitored that the water levels in rivers and tributaries are continuously rising in the Central Visayas, Caraga, Davao and Zamboanga peninsula regions. Pagasa issued an orange general flood advisory in the following areas:

Central Visayas	Caraga	Davao Region	Zamboanga Peninsula
Bohol	Dinagat Islands	Davao del Sur	Zamboanga Del Norte
Cebu	Agusan del Norte	Davao del Norte	Zamboanga Sibugay
Negros Oriental	Surigao Del Norte	Davao de Oro	Zamboanga del Sur
	Surigao Del Sur	Davao Oriental
	Agusan Del Sur	Davao Occidental

Areas under orange general flood alert | source: Pagasa

Flood monitoring

Aside from these four regions, Pagasa issued yellow general flood warning advisories to five more regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Yellow means the water is slowly rising but still below the alarm level. Pagasa and local disaster officials will continue to monitor the rivers and tributaries within the day in the following areas:

EASTERN VISAYAS	Northern Mindanao	SOCCKSARGEN	ARMM
Leyte	Camiguin	Sultan Kudarat	Sulu
Northern Samar	Misamis Occidental	North Cotabato	Basilan
Biliran	Lanao del Norte	Sarangani	Maguindanao
Samar	Misamis Oriental	South Cotabato	Lanao del Sur
Eastern Samar	Bukidnon		Tawi-Tawi
Southern Leyte

Areas under yellow general flood monitoring | source: Pagasa

Classes suspended

In Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental, Mayor Juanito “Kulot” Inojales declared suspension of classes due to flooding and landslides for today.

Watch out for flooding advisories within the day. If the flood warning icon turns red or “extreme,” suspension of classes will be automatic, per Deped guidelines.

Heavy rainfall warning

At 8 am today, Pagasa issued yellow rainfall warning over:

Agusan del Norte : Santiago
Davao Occidental: Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos
Dinagat Islands: Loreto, Tubajon, SanJose
Sarangani Province: Malapatan, Glan, Maasim
Surigao del Sur: Madrid, San Miguel

Yellow warning means flooding is “possible” in low-lying areas as well as landslides in mountainous areas.

There is no automatic suspension of classes but the local government has the prerogative if they seem it fit especially is flooding gets worse.

What’s driving the rains down south

A low pressure area south of Mindanao brings heavy rains over Caraga, Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula.

It will also bring light to moderate rains across the Visayas and the rest of Mindanao. There will be heavy rains at times, though.

Pagasa advised people living in hazardous areas – flood-prone or near the mountains – to prepare for evacuation.

Malou Talosig-Bartolome

She spent almost a decade as diplomatic reporter for a daily newspaper of national circulation. She also took charge of the regional and international news operations as a senior editor of a major television network.