Several Cebu towns suspend classes due to ‘Opong’

Local

LOCAL government units (LGUs) in northern Cebu suspended classes and stopped sea travel on Thursday, September 25, as Severe Tropical Storm Opong brought heavy rains and rough seas.

Sixteen towns and cities declared class suspensions, including Madridejos, San Remigio, Bogo City, Tabogon, Tuburan, Medellin, Danao City, Pilar, Poro, Daanbantayan, Borbon, Tabuelan, Asturias, San Francisco, Catmon, and Sogod.

The Bantayan Island towns of Santa Fe and Madridejos also suspended classes.

Madridejos Mayor Romeo Villaceran issued a memorandum on Wednesday that extended the suspension until Friday, September 26, citing “anticipated continuous heavy rain.”

Santa Fe Mayor Ithamar Espinosa followed the recommendation of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office when he announced the suspension.

Tabogon officials called their order a “precautionary and pre-emptive measure.”

Medellin Mayor Edwin Salimbangon also suspended classes until Friday and encouraged schools to adopt alternative learning modes.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) suspended sea trips across northern Cebu as waves turned dangerous.

Between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Thursday, the Coast Guard District Central Visayas reported 261 stranded passengers, 34 vessels, 7 motorbancas, and 215 rolling cargoes.

The PCG urged shipowners, operators, and fisherfolk to avoid sea travel and to follow weather and safety

advisories.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) announced in its 11 p.m. bulletin on Wednesday, September 24, that Opong slightly intensified while moving westward over the Philippine Sea.

The Pagasa tracked the storm’s center 595 kilometers east of Surigao City or 660 kilometers east of Maasin City. Opong carried maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 125 km/h.

The state weather bureau raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 over Northern Samar and parts of Eastern Samar, while Signal No. 1 remained hoisted over several areas in Luzon and the Visayas, including Cebu.(MyTVCebu)