OCD-Bicol office in Legazpi City (File photo)
LEGAZPI CITY – A total of 5,398 passengers have been stranded and at least 1,393 rolling cargoes, 10 vessels, and eight sea vessels were forced to take shelter in different ports across Bicol due to the effects of Tropical Depression Agaton, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the region said Tuesday.
The Philippine Coast Guard canceled sea travels in various ports as a preemptive measure.
Gremil Alexis Naz, OCD-Bicol spokesperson, in an interview, said stranded passengers and vessels were noted at the seaports of Matnog in Sorsogon province, Bapor in Masbate City, and San Pascual in Camarines Sur.
"Aside from the stranded in seaports, there were also 386 individuals, 38 trucks, and 145 light vehicles and vans stranded at the Maharlika Highway in Sorsogon due to the suspension of sea trips to the Visayas," Naz said.
OCD-Bicol also reported a total of 38 families or 142 individuals displaced in the provinces of Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon where floods were reported.
"Twenty-six families or 113 individuals are still inside and outside of the evacuation centers including the two families from Barangay Homapon in Legazpi or 13 persons outside evacuation center; eight families in Mobo or 20 persons inside evacuation center and 16 families in Palanas or 80 people inside the evacuation center, both in Masbate," Naz said.
Floodings were reported in the provinces of Albay and Camarines Sur while five partially damaged houses were recorded in Mobo town.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,024 family food packs amounting to PHP439,347, as well as other essential needs, were given to the stranded passengers at the ports by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Bicol (DSWD-5).
Each pack includes rice, canned goods, coffee and cereal drinks. Non-food items that were provided include family tents, sleeping kits, mosquito nets, and blankets, among others.
On the other hand, the municipality of Matnog served hot meals to the stranded persons.
As of Tuesday morning, the center of “Agaton” was estimated to be in the vicinity of Balangiga, Eastern Samar with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center. (With reports from Eliakim Neric and Glydel Sarcia/PNA-OJTs)
