By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Several areas in Bacolod City were inundated yesterday due to nonstop rains caused by an enhanced southwest monsoon brought about by a typhoon outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

Based on a weather bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Typhoon “Maymay” was last located 1,340 kilometers east northeast of Basco, Batanes.

At the time, the storm was moving north northwest at 20 kilometers per hour (kph) towards Japan, with winds measuring 180 kph and gusts of 220 kph.

Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) officer-in-charge Dondon Parandas said, as of 11:45 a.m. yesterday, around seven areas in the city were experiencing flooding, ranging in depths from “ankle level” to around 0.5 meters.

Weather bulletins provided to CDRRMO showed 3.4 to 4.4mm of rainfall was recorded within approximately three hours.

Parandas added, since there was no typhoon signal, class cancellation was left at the discretion of the Department of Education-Bacolod (DepEd-Bacolod) Schools Division.

In response, DepEd-Bacolod Schools Division Superintendent Cynthia Demavivas said principals were advised to cancel classes if students appeared to be at risk due to flooding./DGB, WDJ