Close to 5,000 stranded on Christmas in Bicol ports due to ‘Nina’
Stranded passengers from Tabaco port are evacuated by the local government in Tabaco City, Albay province on December 24, 2016 after their seafaring vessels were prohibited from sailing ahead of typhoon Nock-Ten’s expected arrival.
Philippine authorities began evacuating thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports on December 24 as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the country’s east coast on Christmas Day. Nock-Ten is expected to be packing winds of between 203-250 kilometres per hour (126-155 miles per hour) when it crosses over Catanduanes, a remote island of 250,000 people in the Bicol region, late Sunday, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. AFP PHOTO
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay—The number of passengers stranded by Typhoon “Nina” (international name: Nock-Ten) on Sunday, Christmas Day, in Bicol ports has reached 4,860.
As of 4 a.m., Philippine Coast Guard Bicol has recorded 1,617 in Albay, 3,032 in Sorsogon, 59 in Masbate and 152 in Camarines Sur. At least 12 vessels, 541 vehicles, including rolling cargoes, and three motorbancas were also stranded.
The stranded passengers were given shelter in the different ports in the region.
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