‘Quinta’ grounds sea vessels, strands passengers in Cebu

Passengers bound for Iloilo and Bacolod were stranded at 2GO Travel, North Harbor, Manila INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

CEBU CITY-Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Cebu on Wednesday as sea vessels were grounded due to tropical storm Quinta.

Cebu Coast Guard station commander Rolando Punzalan said 939 passengers and 10 rolling cargoes were stranded after 29 vessels were kept in port due to Quinta which has caused only minimal damage in Cebu.

Some trees fell on the roads in some northern towns but these were immediately cleared by the Department of Public Works and Highways personnel.

Power outages occurred in the northern Cebu towns, from Catmon to Asturias, according to acting Cebu Gov. Agnes Magpale.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) also reported brownouts in the towns of Balamban and Daanbantayan and in Bogo City. The OCD also received reports on landslide in Balamban town.

In Cebu City, the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported a landslide in sitio Awihaw, Barangay (village) Kalunasan.

According to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (Pagasa) in Mactan, Quinta passed over Pacihan Island in San Francisco, Camotes, Cebu at 4 a.m. Wednesday and Catmon town between 5 a.m. to 6 a.m.