SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews/4 November) — Power has been restored in Surigao City as of 8:30 AM Tuesday following an overnight outage caused by the onslaught of Typhoon Tino.
According to the Public Information Office of the city government, telecommunications services were also restored following the return of electricity.
The local government reported that the heavy rain and strong winds had subsided but urged residents to remain vigilant, as Surigao City, along with northern towns of Surigao del Norte and the province of Camiguin, remains under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1.
The typhoon toppled trees along several streets, damaging portions of the city’s power distribution lines.
More than 2,000 families were forced to seek temporary shelter in evacuation centers to avoid flooding, storm surges, and landslides in their communities.
Meanwhile, Primewater Surigao Metro announced on its Facebook page that as of 7:30 AM on November 4, the city’s water supply system was 52 percent operational.
“We hope everyone remained safe after the typhoon. Our team continues to assess and restore affected facilities to fully normalize water service as soon as possible,” Primewater said in its statement.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Further updates will be issued as restoration efforts continue,” it added.
Meanwhile, classes in all levels was suspended in Iligan City Tuesday, November 4, after the city government issued an executive order Monday in anticipation of the typhoon. The suspension order, however, did not cover work in government offices.
In Linamon town, Mayor Procopio V. Chang also issued a public advisory November 3 for the suspension of classes on November 4 both public and private schools for the safety of school children and teachers.
Several local governments across Region 12 likewise suspended classes Tuesday as heavy rains brought by the trough of STS Tino continued to soak parts of Soccsksargen.
In an advisory posted on its official Facebook page Tuesday morning, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region XII listed areas declared the suspension of classes for all levels, both in public and private schools.
Among these were the entire province of Sultan Kudarat; twelve towns in Cotabato province – Aleosan, Midsayap, Libungan, Pikit, Carmen, Kabacan, Antipas, Pigcawayan, Matalam, Alamada, President Roxas, and Arakan; three towns in South Cotabato – Tampakan, Lake Sebu, and Polomolok; and the municipality of Maitum in Sarangani.
“Nagdeklara ng suspensyon ng klase ang mga lokal na pamahalaan dahil sa patuloy at malalakas na pag-ulan na dulot ng ‘trough’ ng Bagyong Tino (Local governments declared class suspensions due to continuous and heavy rains brought by the trough of Typhoon Tino),” the OCD said in its advisory.
The trough refers to the extended area of low pressure around a typhoon that can bring heavy rains even to areas far from the storm’s center.
The agency warned that the rains may cause flooding and landslides, especially in areas considered high-risk, and urged residents to remain alert and follow official advisories.
In General Santos City, however, classes continued as usual. (Chris V. Panganiban with reports from Richel Umel and Guia A. Rebollido/MindaNews)
