Amid start of rainy season: PAGASA stops cloud seeding in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - With the start of the rainy  season, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration-Mactan has stopped its cloud-seeding operations.

Engineer Oscar Tabada, PAGASA Visayas director, said that since the rainy season started last May 25, they decided to stop their cloud-seeding operations.

The cloud-seeding in Cebu started earlier this month in order to address the effects of the El Niño.

Tabada said that El Niño is expected to last until the end of this month and by June, La Niña will start. Tabada added that they cannot predict if the La Niña phenomenon will be intense or mild.

For their part, the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) is already preparing for all sorts of calamities the La Niña might bring.

Dennis Atto, OCD-7 training officer, said that as of the moment, barangay captains, mayors and provincial governors already have their disaster risk officers ready to respond to any La Niña-related emergency.

Atto also advises the public to be updated of weather forecasts.

 "Kanunay lang jud tang magbinantayon, dayun minaw ta sa balita para ma-update ta sa weather," Atto said.

He also reminds those who reside near rivers and seas and landslide prone areas to immediately evacuate if they are told by the authorities.

Meanwhile, as of now, PAGASA-Mactan has not yet monitored signs of a forming typhoon or a Low Pressure Area (LPA) amid the isolated rains showers experienced in some parts of Cebu.  (FREEMAN)