By Ben Serrano, Correspondent BUTUAN City — Continuous downpour in two cities here in Caraga region has prompted authorities to suspend classes of preschool and elementary pupils. Officials in Surigao City declared the suspension of classes earlier than the officials in this city. Parents of preschool pupils here complained that the declaration came in too late that they have already sent their children to school. “It was already difficult for our children to return home because of the continuous downpour. If only declarations were made earlier we wouldn’t have sent our children out to school,” complained one parent. The local bureau office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in Surigao City, through Engr. Frances Semorlan, announced that as of 2 am, yesterday morning, the amount of rainfall recorded in the last three hours was already at 18.4mm per hour. Accordingly recommended rainfall amount for alert level 1 is 7.5-15mm per hour while alert level 2 is 16-30mm per hour. Samorlan said Surigao City remained under alert level 2 because of the continuous rains.