2,815 passengers stranded in Bicol ports

Legazpi Port (Photo from Trina Anne / Blogspot)

LEGAZPI CITY — About 2,815 passengers and 330 trucks, buses, vans and cars are stranded in the ports of Sorsogon, Masbate, Camarines Sur and Albay, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Friday.

Rachelle Miranda, OCD public information officer, said the suspension of sailing took effect Friday following the raising by the Philippine Coast Guard of a “no sailing” order in three Bicol ports as a precautionary measure as Public Storm Warning Signal 1 was hoisted due Typhoon “Dodong.”

In a phone interview, Miranda said that as of 10 a.m. Friday, there were 1,942 passengers bound for the Samar and Leyte provinces that were still stranded in the port of Matnog, 859 in Albay and 14 passengers in Masbate port.

Typhoon Dodong, as of 5 a.m. Friday, had slowed down as it continued to move towards the west-northwest direction at 595 kilometers east of Borongan, Eastern Samar, the local weather station here said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Dodong carries 150-km winds, with gustiness of 185 kph moving west-northwest at a speed of 17 kph.

In Albay, Gov. Joey Salceda activated and convened the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and came up with a disaster scenario for advance planning on appropriate countermeasure.

The PDRRMC also prepared a list of vulnerable population and areas for quick evacuation plan in case of flood, landslide, lahar, coastal flood and wind surge.