Quezon gov raises alert on rough seas, weather disturbance

LUCENA CITY –– Quezon Gov. Danilo Suarez has ordered all mayors and disaster risk reduction management offices in the province to observe all precautions for safe sea voyages.

“All LGUs (local government units), specifically those within the eastern seaboard of Quezon, are hereby encouraged to conduct close monitoring on vulnerable areas and do necessary preparedness measures to avoid untoward incident related to the gale warning,” Suarez said in his Memorandum Order No. 148 issued Tuesday, a copy of which was posted on his social media account in the evening.

“Fishing boats and small seacrafts are advised not to venture out in the sea, while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” he added.

In the earlier Memorandum Order No. 147, Suarez also tasked local authorities, specifically in Infanta, Tagkawayan, Calauag, Lopez, Mulanay, and San Francisco towns, to conduct close monitoring and conduct the necessary preparedness measures on areas susceptible to landslide and flooding, after the state weather bureau forecasted on Tuesday that a low-pressure area, was moving closer to the Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions although it was not likely to develop into a storm in the next 24 hours.

On Monday, 17 passengers and five crew members aboard passenger motorboat Gesu de Bambino were rescued after their vessel capsized off Atimonan town facing Lamon Bay.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that the boat bound for the island town of Perez capsized due to “engine trouble and strong waves.”

The Atimonan public information office clarified that the reported drowning of the boat purser, Jomel del Moro, was not related to the accident.

Local authorities said Del Moro drowned while trying to fix the rope of the passenger boat, while still anchored at the Atimonan port.

LZB