ARMM, Zamboanga City brace for 'Ompong'
In this Feb. 14, 2017 file photo, a convoy of trucks carrying relief goods leaves Cotabato City. Philstar.com/John Unson, file
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials have suspended classes in flood-prone areas and riverside barangays in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao because of heavy rains since Thursday when Typhoon Ompong entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
Classes in all elementary, high school and college institutions in Basilan were suspended since Thursday morning, according to ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman.
Local executives in the first district of Maguindanao have also ordered the suspension of classes in their towns in case of flooding.
Hataman said Thursday that the regional government's rapid deployment Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team is monitoring the situation through field personnel of the Education and Local Government departments.
Police, military rescue teams on alert
Rescue teams of Police Regional Office-ARMM and the military Western Mindanao Command are on full alert in anticipation of the typhoon's possible effects on the 118 towns in the autonomous region.
Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, commander of WestMinCom, said military units in ARMM provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are working closely with local government units in enforcing safety precautions in the communities.
Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana of the Army's 6th Infantry Division said battalions in Maguindanao towns along the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta have also been tasked to monitor the level of swamps and rivers in their areas.
The delta is a catchbasin for more than a dozen rivers that spring from mountain ranges in nearby South Cotabato, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Bukidnon provinces.
Zamboanga City braces for 'Ompong'
In an advisory, Zamboanga City's Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said the local government has decided to suspend classes because of heavy rains since Wednesday night.
The city government also directed all disaster units in the 98 barangays to closely monitor situation in their areas, particularly those susceptible to floods, landslides and storm surge. Residents have also been told to heed the barangay advisories.
Voyages of cargo and passenger vessels plying the Zamboanga-Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi sea routes have also been cancelled. — with Roel Pareño in Zamboanga City
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