CAMALIG, Albay, Philippines—Classes in the primary and secondary levels in the province of Albay was suspended Wednesday after a low pressure area estimated northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar, brought heavy rains in the province.

The suspension was announced by Governor Joey Salceda as part of the province's preventive measure, said Abundio Nuñez, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo) plans and operations division chief.

Nuñez said the governor also declared a "code blue" or "heightened alert" in the landslide-prone town of Manito, where an ongoing Boys Scouts of the Philippines Jamboree organized by the Albay Council was being held.

The Apsemo has yet to receive the total number of participants in the jamboree, which was already canceled Wednesday morning.

Salceda said he had already declared a "code blue," which means people should stay put in their houses and the boy scouts were advised not to travel back home to Legazpi and their respective places of origins.

Salceda's advisory early Wednesday morning said, "the organizers are hereby advised to limit activities on the camp site and control the movement of the pupils."

Apsemo director Cedric Daep said he had recommended the suspension of travel of the affected campers in Manito to avoid river channels and seaboards along the road going back to Legazpi.

Salceda said the provincial and local disaster councils were already advised to execute measures to prevent untoward incident related to the low pressure area that had moderate to heavy rains.

"The Municipal Health Office (MHO) of Manito is placed under 'code blue' and together with the Provincial Health Office (PHO) are hereby instructed to provide teams on site with standby emergency vehicles," he said.

Salceda said he had to see to it that the Manito hospital be in full support to the PHO.

"Unnecessary movement outside camp site is hereby discouraged, DepEd is hereby instructed to make school buildings open as temporary safe shelters."

He said the province was in close coordination with Manito MDCC for support and that Manito should be on alert status for the higher vulnerability.

Some roads were impassable, particularly in front of the municipal hall of Camalig, due to rampaging chocolate-colored and knee-deep flood carrying boulders.

The flood in Camalig has isolated the towns of the third district of Albay, preventing students, workers and travelers going to and from Legazpi City.

The Apasemo was also monitoring related flash flood incidents in Maipon and Masarawag villages in Guinobatan town and the perennially flooded portion of Barangay Padang in Legazpi City, which also isolated the city of Tabaco and the rest of the first district of Albay.

Daep said that for the past 12-hour monitoring, the different rain gauges installed around the province had recorded an average of 7.2 millimeters of rainfall with peak of 68 mm from 2 a.m. until 9 a.m. Wednesday.

"There were even higher recorded rains in other parts of the province and that averaged 7.2mm on our readings but we still have to compare it with the official findings of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)," Daep said.

The provincial engineering office immediately fielded heavy equipment to allow light vehicles to pass through Camalig area.

Motorcycles and small cars were able to traverse the flooded area at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. However, rains continued to pound the province even up to the late afternoon.