Post by ferryfast admin on Jan 25, 2006 1:19:41 GMT -5
‘Agaton’ leaves thousands in ports stranded
First posted 04:12am (Mla time) Jan 25, 2006
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A18 of the January 25, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
TABACO CITY—A total of 2, 262 passengers, 47 sea vessels, 42 buses and 23 small vehicles were stranded in four major ports in Bicol due to tropical depression “Agaton,” the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported yesterday.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commander Joseph Coyme said the agency automatically suspends the trips of all boats weighing 1,000 gross tons and below every time Storm Signal No. 1 is declared.
The number of stranded passengers, most of them students coming from different islands, could still rise, according to OCD regional director
As of 11 a.m. yesterday, the OCD monitored 1,629 passengers and 38 sea vessels stranded at Matnog Port in Sorsogon alone.
In Tabaco City, 400 passengers and four big boats were not allowed to leave the port.
Pilar port in Sorsogon had 200 stranded passengers and Sabang port in Camarines Sur, 23.
But a report of the PCG in Manila gave higher figures of stranded passengers in Tabaco with 422 and Pilar
with 290. The report said 43 were stranded in Sabang and 12 in Bulan.
In Tacloban City, classes in the elementary level were suspended on Monday after Agaton threatened to lash at the three Samar provinces.
Affected were public and private elementary schools in Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar, which had been placed under Signal No. 1.
Although Tacloban was not included, Mayor Alfredo “Bejo” Romualdez decided to suspend all elementary classes due to the bad weather.
He convened the City Disaster Coordinating Council to map out measures to prepare for Agaton and directed the offices on engineering, general services and social welfare to be on alert.
All public schools have been designated as relocation sites in case families need to be evacuated. Packs of ready-to-eat food have also been prepared for distribution.
The OCD in Eastern Visayas directed all local government units, especially in Samar and Tacloban, to activate their disaster coordinating councils.
It warned those living along the coastline to temporarily seek shelter on higher grounds for their safety. Gil Francis G. Arevalo, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau and Joey A. Gabieta, PDI Visayas Bureau and Leila B. Salaverria in Manila
First posted 04:12am (Mla time) Jan 25, 2006
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A18 of the January 25, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
TABACO CITY—A total of 2, 262 passengers, 47 sea vessels, 42 buses and 23 small vehicles were stranded in four major ports in Bicol due to tropical depression “Agaton,” the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported yesterday.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commander Joseph Coyme said the agency automatically suspends the trips of all boats weighing 1,000 gross tons and below every time Storm Signal No. 1 is declared.
The number of stranded passengers, most of them students coming from different islands, could still rise, according to OCD regional director
As of 11 a.m. yesterday, the OCD monitored 1,629 passengers and 38 sea vessels stranded at Matnog Port in Sorsogon alone.
In Tabaco City, 400 passengers and four big boats were not allowed to leave the port.
Pilar port in Sorsogon had 200 stranded passengers and Sabang port in Camarines Sur, 23.
But a report of the PCG in Manila gave higher figures of stranded passengers in Tabaco with 422 and Pilar
with 290. The report said 43 were stranded in Sabang and 12 in Bulan.
In Tacloban City, classes in the elementary level were suspended on Monday after Agaton threatened to lash at the three Samar provinces.
Affected were public and private elementary schools in Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar, which had been placed under Signal No. 1.
Although Tacloban was not included, Mayor Alfredo “Bejo” Romualdez decided to suspend all elementary classes due to the bad weather.
He convened the City Disaster Coordinating Council to map out measures to prepare for Agaton and directed the offices on engineering, general services and social welfare to be on alert.
All public schools have been designated as relocation sites in case families need to be evacuated. Packs of ready-to-eat food have also been prepared for distribution.
The OCD in Eastern Visayas directed all local government units, especially in Samar and Tacloban, to activate their disaster coordinating councils.
It warned those living along the coastline to temporarily seek shelter on higher grounds for their safety. Gil Francis G. Arevalo, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau and Joey A. Gabieta, PDI Visayas Bureau and Leila B. Salaverria in Manila