Hundreds of Philippine Schools Suspend Classes over Heat Danger

Hundreds of schools in the Philippines suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
Hundreds of schools in the Philippines suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
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Hundreds of Philippine Schools Suspend Classes over Heat Danger

Hundreds of schools in the Philippines suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
Hundreds of schools in the Philippines suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat. JAM STA ROSA / AFP

Hundreds of schools in the Philippines, including dozens in the capital Manila, suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat, education officials said.
The country's heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.
The index was expected to reach the "danger" level of 42 degrees Celsius in Manila on Tuesday and 43C on Wednesday, with similar levels in a dozen other areas of the country, the state weather forecaster said.
The actual highest temperature forecast for the metropolis on Tuesday was 34C, reported AFP.
Primary and secondary schools in Quezon, the most populous part of the city, were ordered to shut while schools in other areas were given the option by local officials to shift to remote learning.
Some schools in Manila shortened class hours to avoid the hottest part of the day.
A heat index of 42-51C can cause heat cramps and heat exhaustion, with heat stroke "probable with continued exposure", the weather forecaster said in an advisory.
Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are also possible at 33-41C, according to the forecaster.
Local officials in several areas of the southern island of Mindanao also suspended in-person classes or shortened school hours over two weeks, regional education department spokeswoman Rea Halique told AFP.
The orders affected hundreds of schools in the provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, as well as the cities of Cotabato, General Santos and Koronadal, Halique said.
Cotabato city experienced the highest heat index in Mindanao, reaching 42C on Monday and Tuesday, the state forecaster reported.



Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
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Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo

Greece will soon set up an evacuation port on the island of Santorini to facilitate the safe escape of people in case a bigger quake hits the popular tourist destination, a Greek minister said on Monday.
Santorini, a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, has been shaken by tens of thousands of mild quakes since late January, forcing thousands of people to flee, and authorities to ban construction activity, and shut schools and nearby islands.
No major damage has been reported but scientists have said the seismic activity was unprecedented even in a quake-prone country like Greece and have not ruled out bigger tremors.
They have identified the main ferry port at the foot of a precipitous slope and other sites across Santorini as weak links, although they have not said they cannot be used in an emergency situation, Reuters reported.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece will build an evacuation port for the safe docking of passenger ferries until a new port infrastructure is in place.
"Along with the new port in Santorini which is being prepared, there was a decision for setting up an escape port on the part of the island where passenger ferries would be able to dock in an emergency," he said in an interview with Greek ANT1 television.
Although the tremors lessened over the weekend, local authorities extended emergency measures for a third week on Sunday and reiterated calls for people to stay away from coastal areas and steep hillsides prone to landslides.
"This story is not over," Costas Papazachos, a seismology professor, and a spokesperson for the Santorini quakes told public broadcaster ERT.
"Both authorities and habitants should get used to a rather unpleasant situation for some time, it could be another two, three months."
Santorini took its current shape following one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC.
Seismologists have said the latest seismic activity, the result of moving tectonic plates and magma, has pushed subsurface layers of the island upwards.