TYPHOON Chedeng (international name Songda) left the Philippines at 4 p.m. yesterday but the state weather bureau Pagasa said the typhoon merely ushered in the onset of the rainy season in the country.
Pagasa Mactan office weather analyst Boy Artiaga said they project the wet season to last until October.
He said the rains are brought by the southwest monsoon locally known as “habagat.”
Artiaga said three typhoons entered the country this year.
While the Philippines experiences 19 to 22 typhoons annually, the number went down due to global warming.
Last year, Artiaga said there were only 14 typhoons that hit the country.
In Cebu City, the city government prepared for the rainy season by approving funding for drainage projects and dengue awareness and prevention campaigns.
They also suspended the clearing operations at the Mahiga River indefinitely until the weather improves, said Alvin Santillan, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC).
“The dredging works at the river will go on but the clearing of structures will have to wait until Pagasa says the skies are already clear,” he said.
Santillan said desilting or dredging is needed to allow the water to flow and prevent the rising of the water level in the area.
The Cebu City Emergency Management Office are on alert 24/7 until everything is declared clear of dangers due to the incoming downpour of rain, he added.
The office identified flooding danger zones in each barangay.
The City Council approved P16.8 million in funding for drainage projects in La Paloma Village in Tisa, Lawaan and Almacega Street to the Kinalumsan River in barangay Labangon.
Another drainage project worth P4.7 million would be implemented near Sta. Teresita Village in Tisa.
Other drainage projects are in Nasipit, Talamban, sitio Tugib in barangay Malubog and in sitios Tanay and Candarong in barangay Pulangbato.
The Cebu City Health Department will conduct mist spraying in 66 elementary schools in Cebu City this week.
They also distributed larvae trap equipment to the top 15 dengue hot spots like barangays Guadalupe and San Nicholas in the city.
Assistant city epidemiologist Durinda Macasocol said they recorded 588 dengue cases with six deaths from January to May.
She said ovi larvae trap equipment ensures that dengue-carrying mosquitoes don’t hatch their eggs.
Dr. Lee James Maratas of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) said they prepared 20 beds on their pediatrics ward in anticipation of the increase in the number of child dengue patients.
He said the CCMC has enough supply of IV fluids for the dengue patients.
For their part, the Cebu City Provincial Police Office said they created teams to respond to any calamity that may occur during the rainy season in Cebu.
Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Cebu provincial police chief, called on the public to report any calamity to the police for action. Reporters Ador Vincent Mayol and Doris C. Bongcac and Correspondents Edison delos Angeles, Fatrick Tabada and Gabriel C. Bonjoc