LONG WAIT Vehicles line up along Maharlika Highway in Camarines Sur as they wait for the floodwaters to subside, as seen in this drone shot in Milaor town at noon on Sunday. Only heavy vehicles, buses and trucks are allowed to travel on Saturday while light vehicles are still stranded due to floods. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CHINITONG MANLALAKBAY
LEGAZPI CITY —Classes in some parts of Camarines Sur were still suspended on Monday due to the effects of the Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) that battered the Bicol region last month.
In a memorandum, Gov. Vincenzo Renato Luigi Villafuerte said the class suspension since Oct. 22 remained in effect, but other local officials and school heads may resume classes based on their assessment in their respective areas.
He said their decision should consider accessibility, the condition of classrooms, readiness of the faculty and safety of the students.
Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion also extended the suspension of classes on Nov. 4 to 10 to “allow relief and recovery operations and provide the community the time needed to begin healing and stabilization.”
He said classes may tentatively resume on Nov. 11, subject to the assessment and discretion of the school heads.
He urged the students, parents and faculty to assist in the clearing and cleaning of classrooms and school grounds to prepare the school facilities for the resumption of classes.
READ: Kristine aftermath in Camarines Sur: 9 of 36 towns still flooded
Most of the towns in the said province were submerged in floods that reached the roofs of the buildings, leaving 45 dead due to drowning and landslides.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Bicol said 15 people also died in Albay, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon, while 74 were injured and five were still missing.
OCD Bicol spokesperson Gremil Alexis Naz said 24 villages were still flooded in Camarines Sur as of Monday.
At least 69,192 families, or 285,468 individuals, were still in evacuation centers, houses and facilities. INQ