THE first day of classes in several provinces in northern and southern Luzon has been suspended due to the effects of Tropical Storm Florita, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Monday, August 22, 2022.In a press conference, DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa said classes have been suspended in the provinces of Cagayan including Tuguegarao City, northern portion of Aurora, and Albay including Tobacco and Legazpi City.He said over 800 schools were affected by the suspension of classes in these areas.Cagayan was under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2, as of Monday morning, while the northern portion of Aurora was under TCWS No. 1 due to the onslaught of Florita.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Florita is also enhancing a southwest monsoon, which causes bad weather in southern Luzon including Albay.In Hagonoy, Bulacan and other places nearby, students had to go through a knee-high deep flood in order to get to their respective schools.Some of the parents or guardians had to carry their students to school due to flooding brought about by the effects of Florita.The opening of School Year 2022-2023 also marks the resumption of in-person classes two years after the implementation of distance learning modality due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.Around 28 million students have so far enrolled, according to the DepEd.Pagasa said “Florita” is expected to be outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday, August 23. (SunStar Philippines)