Typhoon strands holiday travelers
Credit to Author: Divina Nova Joy Dela Cruz| Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2019 16:14:06 +0000
Thousands of travelers were forced to spend Christmas in ferry terminals as Typhoon “Ursula” (international name: “Phanfone”) gained strength Tuesday, making sea crossings too dangerous.
Ursula was expected to make landfall in the Borongan-Guiuan area in Eastern Samar between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, packing 120 kilometer-per-hour (kph) winds and gusts of up to 150 kph.
It was moving westward at 20 kph.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised storm alerts in a wide area that practically covers the entire country.
Pagasa last tracked Ursula at 95 km east of Guiuan.
Signal 3 was raised in Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, Leyte and Camotes Islands.
Signal 2 was up in eight areas in Luzon, six in the Visayas and one in Mindanao.
In Luzon, the areas were the Southern portion of Quezon (Mulanay, San Narciso, San Andres and San Francisco), Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Island, Romblon, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate including Burias and Ticao Islands.
In the Visayas, Signal 2 was up in extreme northern Cebu including Bantayan Island (Bantayan, Madridejos, Santa Fe, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, Bogo City, Tabogon, Tabuelan, Borbon, San Francisco, Poro, Tudela and Pilar), northeastern Iloilo (Carles, Balasan, Estancia, Batad, San Dionisio, Sara, Concepcion, Lemery and Ajuy), northern Antique (Libertad, Pandan, Sebaste, Culasi and Tibiao), Capiz, Aklan, Southern Leyte, and extreme Northern Negros Occidental (Enrique B. Magalona, Victorias, Manapla, Cadiz, Sagay, Escalante and Toboso).
In Mindanao, Dinagat Island was placed under Signal 2.
Meanwhile, Signal 1 was raised in 14 areas in Luzon, eight in the Visayas, and one in Mindanao.
In Luzon, these were Bulacan, Bataan, Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, rest of Quezon, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, northern Palawan (Linapacan, El Nido, Taytay, Araceli, Dumaran, San Vicente and Roxas), Calamian Islands, and Cuyo Islands.
In the Visayas, these were the rest of northern Cebu (Carmen, Asturias, Tuburan, Catmon and Sogod), Central Cebu (Aloguinsan, Carcar City, Pinamungahan, San Fernando, Naga City, Toledo City, Minglanilla, Balamban, Talisay City, Cebu City, Cordova, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Danao City), northeastern Bohol (Inabanga, Danao, Dagohoy, Pilar, Guindulman, Anda, Candijay, Alicia, Buenavista, Jetafe, Talibon, Trinidad, Bien Unido, San Miguel, Ubay, Mabini and Pres. Carlos P. Garcia), the rest of Antique, the rest of Iloilo, Guimaras, northern Negros Occidental (Bacolod City, Bago City, Calatrava, La Carlota City, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Binalbagan, Hinigaran, Isabela, Murcia, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, Salvador Benedicto, San Carlos City, San Enrique, Silay City, Talisay City and Valladolid), and northern Negros Oriental (Canlaon City, Guihulngan City, Jimalalud, La Libertad and Vallehermoso).
In Mindanao, the areas are Surigao del Norte, including Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said more than 21,000 people traveling by land in Bicol, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Southern Tagalog, Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas and Southern Visayas were stranded in ferry ports because of the ban on sea travel.
The Coast Guard said 2,184 rolling cargoes, 36 motorized bancas and 170 were not allowed to sail.
“Most likely, they will celebrate Noche Buena in different ports,” PCG spokesman Capt. Armand Balilo said. “We can’t compromise the safety of these individuals. Gan’un talaga.”
He added that the Coast Guard had set up help desks at the ports there to attend the needs of the stranded passengers.
As Ursula neared, Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara ordered the evacuation of residents threatened by lahar, landslides and floods.
The rains could trigger the movement of lahar on the slopes of Mount Mayon, Bichara said.
On Monday, 100 families in Libon town fled their homes following a rockfall in Basud Mountain.
In Guinobatan, Mayor Gemma Ongjoco advised residents to prepare to be brought to temporary camps.
The Office of Civil Defense in Bicol reported 9,521 stranded passengers in seaports in the region.
Most of them were traveling to the Visayas and Mindanao, while some were on inter-island trips to Masbate and Catanduanes.
The biggest concentration of stranded passengers was in Matnog town, Sorsogon with 8,321.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Tuesday that 2,939 villages in Luzon and the Visayas were highly susceptible to rain-induced landslides.
“The public is advised to monitor the weather disturbance for possible flooding and rain-induced landslides in identified affected areas,” NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said in a statement.
WITH DARWIN PESCO