CEBU CITY, Philippines -- Hundreds of passengers were stranded in ports across the three Visayas regions on Thursday after the Coast Guard canceled operations of inter-island boats because of tropical depression “Quinta.”

Small ferries and fast craft departing from the cities of Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Dumaguete and the provinces of Guimaras, Samar and Leyte provinces were not allowed to set sail after public storm warning signal No. 1 was hoisted over most of the Visayas.

The entry of Quinta, however, caught most Cebu officials by surprise, as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) failed to make an earlier announcement.

By the time PAGASA Mactan raised Signal No. 1 in Cebu and other parts of the Visayas, the region was already experiencing the strong winds and rains brought by Quinta.

Vice Mayor Dale Escario of Bantayan town on Bantayan Island in northern Cebu said they were informed of the typhoon at around 9 a.m. by the Coast Guard. This was followed by a faxed copy of the weather bulletin from PAGASA at 10:03 a.m.

But at around 10 a.m., he said the town and the whole of Bantayan Island were already experiencing strong winds and rain.

"We are appealing to PAGASA through the media to please do their task in the proper and appropriate time so we can prepare,” Escario said.

The whole island suffered a blackout.

Escario said he was still waiting for the report of the actual damage in the town.

Uprooted trees were also reported on the Camotes Island, also in northern Cebu.

Coast Guard authorities in Cebu City stopped the departure of 51 passenger vessels, 14 motorized banca (outrigger canoes) and 34 rolling cargo.

PAGASA, in its 8 a.m. forecast announced over the radio, only reported a low pressure area somewhere in Surigao despite repeated queries from radio listeners if there was a storm.

PAGASA-Mactan, however, said they issued an updated bulletin at 8:15 a.m.

In Tacloban City, the regional office of the Office of Civil Defense in Eastern Visayas (OCD-8) issued an alert call to all local disaster councils in the region due to the incessant rains experienced in the region since Wednesday night.

No flooding or landslide was so far reported but an electricity pole in Sogod, Southern Leyte, was toppled by heavy rains, said Nilo Fernandez of OCD-8.

In Bacolod City, a Cebu Pacific flight 5J 126 from Cebu to Bacolod was diverted to Iloilo due to bad weather caused by typhoon Quinta, according to an airline press statement issued Thursday.

The needs of 56 affected passengers were being addressed and they would be ferried to Bacolod Friday morning. Passengers affected by the Bacolod-Cebu flight cancellation would be accommodated in other flights to Cebu via Manila, it added.

Cebu Pacific emphasized that the safety of passengers was its top priority.