Classes in Albay suspended

By Mar S. Arguelles LEGAZPI CITY --- Classes in the elementary and high school levels in both public and private schools in Albay will be suspended today, Sept. 13, as a precautionary measure as Typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong) moves closer to the Bicol region, the Albay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) announced on Wednesday. Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara issued on Wednesday an advisory suspending classes in all pre-school, elementary and high school in public and private schools across the province on Thursday until it is lifted as the weather improves. The PDRRMC has advised all local disaster councils in the three cities and 15 towns to be on heightened alert and to closely monitor the status of the typhoon through bulletins issued by the local weather bureau (PAGASA) and the PDRRMC. Bichara also directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to implement the “no sailing” policy in the ports of Legazpi, Tabaco, Pio Duran, and Libon once storm warning signal number one is raised by the weather bureau. It also warned fishermen not to sail and go fishing due to rough seas. Coastal villages in the eastern seaboard of the province were likewise warned about the big waves that usually hit the shorelines during bad weather.