SUSPENDED TRIP. Some of the stranded passengers inside the departure area of Allen port in Northern Samar on Monday (July 24, 2023). From early Monday until noon, 293 trucks, buses, and cars are prevented from boarding the ferry to cross the San Bernardino Strait due to big waves brought about by Typhoon Egay. (Photo courtesy Ailene Diaz)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least 1,689 Luzon-bound passengers have been stranded in Allen, Northern Samar as of noon of Monday as authorities canceled sea trips in the province due to big waves brought about by Typhoon Egay.
The Northern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Rei Josiah Echano said in a phone interview that from early Monday until noon, 293 trucks, buses, and cars are prevented from boarding the ferry to cross the San Bernardino Strait.
The stranded passengers are temporarily staying inside the departure area of the Allen port.
“We expect the number to swell in the next hours since some portion(s) of Northern Samar are now under signal number 2. The rainfall volume is normal, but the wind is extraordinary,” Echano told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The PDRRMO reminded all vessels to take precautionary measures and be extra vigilant in monitoring the movement of the typhoon.
There are 15 daily ferry trips between the two provinces crossing the San Bernardino Strait.
The Matnog ferry terminal in Sorsogon is the exit point from Luzon to Eastern Visayas, while Allen port in Northern Samar is the region’s entry from Luzon.
These ports form part of the northeastern seaboard nautical highway that links the country's three major island groups -Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
On Monday noon, some parts of Northern Samar were placed under storm warning signal number 2 while the rest of Samar Island and some parts of Leyte province is under signal number 1 as the weather disturbance further intensifies while moving westward over the Philippine Sea. (PNA)
