Widespread rains forecast over parts of Vis-Min

By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated January 02, 2012 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Widespread rains may trigger flashfloods and landslides in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao over the next three days, the state weather bureau said yesterday.

Robert Sawi, weather division chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms would prevail over the Visayas and Mindanao, becoming cloudy with widespread rains over eastern and central Visayas and eastern and southern Mindanao which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

Sawi also said a low-pressure area was spotted 410 kilometers east-southeast of General Santos City at 8 a.m. yesterday.

A wind convergence was affecting eastern Visayas, he added.

The low-pressure area was not expected to become a storm, according to PAGASA weather forecasters.

Nathaniel Servando, PAGASA administrator, said Luzon will also experience mostly cloudy skies with light rains due to the northeast monsoon.

One tropical storm is likely to affect the country in January, he added, although no tropical storm is expected in the first week of 2012.

However, rains will prevail over most parts of the country due to other weather systems, the agency added.

PAGASA officials had warned that La Niña rains will continue to affect most parts of the country until May this year.

La Niña refers to the abnormal cooling of the sea surface temperature in the Pacific and is characterized by excessive rainfall.

Relocation sites for families displaced by tropical storm “Sendong” will be prepared starting next week, the government said yesterday.

In a telephone interview, executive director Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the relocation sites are near Barangay Sta. Elena in Iligan City and Barangay Calaanan in Cagayan de Oro City.

“These (preparations) will begin next week,” he said. “There will be ground preparations. The soil should be flattened first. This is something that they (affected residents) can probably call their own. They do not need to go back to the edge of the river.”

Ramos said among the areas being eyed as relocation site is a land near Sta. Elena owned by the National Steel Corp. The property may be acquired through an arrangement that would allow the company to settle its tax dues to the local government, he added.

Previous reports said the local government aims to build about 3,000 houses on the 10-hectare lot.

The other relocation site is the nine-hectare property in Barangay Calaanan owned by the Cagayan de Oro City government.

Ramos said the construction of the houses may take three to six months.

“The agencies are fast-tracking this,” he said. “If they go back to the areas where they used to live, they would be vulnerable to disasters.”

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would also provide financial assistance to the affected families to allow them to rebuild their lives.

Sen. Loren Legarda called on the government yesterday to prioritize the needs of some 14,000 children affected by Sendong who are still in evacuation centers.

Citing reports from the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), Legarda said children who are in evacuation centers are most vulnerable, especially when separated from their parents.

“As children continue to face threats, particularly to their health and safety, even after Sendong had left the country, the government should prioritize the provision of their basic necessities,” she said.

Legarda urged the government to focus on providing food, potable water, basic vitamins, medicine, and clothing.

Stress debriefing activities are important to help children cope with the trauma that the devastation had caused them, she added.

Legarda said the DSWD’s Child Protection Working Group Program was organized to protect children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking in evacuation centers.

“While victims of Sendong are still reeling from the effects of the disaster, we have to create a sustainable environment that will shield the most vulnerable citizens of the nation,” she said.

“For what will the future hold for our children and the future generations if the disasters of today are continuously destroying the resources we have? Disasters threaten our basic human rights - food, potable water, shelter, decent livelihood and life itself.

“Disaster preparedness is our shield against the risks that natural hazards may bring to our sources of fundamental needs,” she said. - With Alexis Romero, Christina Mendez