Hundreds stranded in Bicol ports as ‘Ruby’ comes closer

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay–Almost a thousand passengers were stranded in Bicol ports after the Philippine Coast Guard prohibited interisland travel within the region as well as to and from the Visayas as Typhoon “Ruby” came closer to land Friday.

Captain Mardjorie Panesa, public affairs officer of Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur, said the passengers listed as stranded by Army disaster response units coordinating with the Coast Guard in the ports of Albay, Masbate, Catanduanes and Sorsogon as of 10 a.m. Friday.

99 vehicles are waiting to board at Matnog port as supertyphoon #rubyph slows down pic.twitter.com/pA9l5baX5H

— noy morcoso (@dMorcosoINQ) December 5, 2014

Most of the stranded passengers, or 557, were concentrated in the port of Matnog in Sorsogon and were bound for Eastern Visayas while 197 were in Pio Duran, Albay, bound for Masbate, she said.

At the Masbate City port, 85 passengers bound for Sorsogon were stranded; 58 in Pilar, Sorsogon going to Masbate; and 28 in Tabaco City, Albay, going to Catanduanes, she added.

In Catanduanes, eight were stranded in the Virac port while 10 others were in San Andres port, all bound for Tabaco City.

She said 154 passenger vehicles, cargo vehicles, trucks, cars and tankers were also held in these ports since Thursday after the Coast Guard halted all ferry crossings in the region.

634 passengers are stranded at Matnog port in Sorsogon pic.twitter.com/nLnPDBIt5C

— noy morcoso (@dMorcosoINQ) December 5, 2014

Major Wajid Sahipa, executive officer of the 83rd Infantry Battalion covering Catanduanes, said they began evacuating residents in 15 coastal villages in the province as soon as they notice a rise in the height of waves along the province’s coast around 6 a.m. Friday.

Panesa said they were keeping a close watch over Catanduanes because it was on the direct path of the typhoon.

Major Angelo Guzman, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Southern Luzon Command in Lucena City, said the Army has already prepositioned two disaster response operations platoons in Sorsogon City, one in Masbate City and another on Burias Island, Masbate province.

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