• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The 225 passengers stranded at Bredco Port in Bacolod Feb. 5 due to Tropical Storm Basyang are temporarily sheltered at the Education and Training Center School (ETCS) in the city.
The passengers were fetched from the port and transported to ETCS to wait out the storm, with all sea travels suspended.
Coast Guard Sub-Station Bacolod personnel assisted the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in giving aid to the stranded passengers, as part of its commitment to maritime safety, passenger welfare, and interagency collaboration ensuring rapid aid during emergencies.
The Coast Guard District Southern Visayas (CGDSV) said that, as of 4 p.m. Feb. 5, some 709 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo helpers; 237 rolling cargoes, 31 vessels, and 19 motorbancas were stranded across the Negros Island Region due to “Basyang”.
Six vessels are also taking shelter as all sea trips in and out of NIR have been suspended since Feb. 4.
Gale warning is in effect over the eastern and central seaboards of Visayas and the northern and eastern seaboards of Mindanao, with rough seas, the weather bureau said. “Sea travel is risky for all types or tonnage of vessels. All mariners must remain in port or, if underway, seek shelter or safe harbor as soon as possible until winds and waves subside.”
There is a minimal to moderate risk of storm surge with peak heights reaching up to two meters in the next 48 hours over the low-lying or exposed coastal communities of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Cebu, Bohol, Southern Leyte, Leyte, Camiguin, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Davao Oriental, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, and Palawan, including Calamian and Cuyo islands, the DOST-PAGASA added in its 8 p.m. bulletin. | CGC
