July dumped more rains than usual in Cebu; flash flood alert remains as August begins

Local

CEBU may experience generally fair weather during the first week of August. But the state weather bureau warned the public of potential flash floods and landslides.

From Monday, Aug. 1 to Friday, Aug. 7, the entire Cebu will experience sunny periods, according to the Mactan bureau of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa-Mactan).

However, the island province will continue to experience moderate to high chances of localized thunderstorms.

“Flash floods and landslides during heavy rains brought by localized thunderstorms are still possible,” said Jhomer

Eclarino, chief weather forecaster at Pagasa-Mactan.

Last week, localized thunderstorms and several weather systems — the troughs or extensions of a low-pressure area and the presence of habagat (southwest monsoon in English) — brought intense rains.

As a result, many areas in Metro Cebu were inundated, leaving dozens of commuters and motorists stranded for hours on the road.

Meanwhile, Cebu received above-average rainfall in July as successive weather systems drenched the province and triggered flooding across parts in the metro.

The state weather bureau recorded a total of 240.9 millimeters (mm) of rainfall for the month of July, exceeding the month’s normal average of 210.6 mm.

In other words, rain dumped last month is equivalent to water stored in roughly 95 Olympic-sized swimming pools.(RBE)