1,600 stranded as Ruby stops air, sea travel
Tons of garbage from the sea are brought to the boulevard by big waves caused by Typhoon Ruby’s strong winds in Legazpi City on Saturday. MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON
More than 1,600 travelers were stranded at several ports across the country on Saturday after the Philippine Coast Guard suspended sea travel to and from certain areas in Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao due to Typhoon “Ruby” (international name: Hagupit).
The Coast Guard shut the ports in Metro Manila, Palawan, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
Stopped from leaving port were 60 vessels, 203 rolling cargoes and 11 motorboats.
The cancellation of trips left 1,645 passengers stranded, according to a Coast Guard advisory issued at noon yesterday.
Flights canceled
Domestic airlines and aviation officials also canceled flights and shut down at least six airports well ahead of Ruby’s arrival.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in an advisory that at least 48 Cebu Pacific flights to and from the Visayas and the Bicol region were canceled.
Budget carrier AirAsia canceled 27 flights and suspended all of its domestic and international flights on Monday and Tuesday “for safety and operation concerns due to Typhoon Ruby.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) shut down the domestic airports in Tacloban in Leyte, Catarman in Northern Samar, Calbayog in Samar, Legazpi in Albay, Naga in Camarines Sur and Masbate City in Masbate.
“We issued a notice to airmen today. We decided to close the airports in coordination with the airlines so that no passengers will be stranded as a consequence of the typhoon,” Rodante Joya, chief financial officer of the CAAP, said.
Small private aircraft were also not allowed to leave due to heavy rains and rough skies, he said.
Joya said the notice to airmen would be lifted as soon as Ruby cleared the Philippine area of responsibility.
Disease prevention
Acting Health Secretary Janette Garin issued instructions to Department of Health (DOH) regional directors and chiefs of DOH-retained medical centers in areas expected to be affected by Ruby to ensure that evacuees do not get sick in the shelters and to prevent the spread of disease.
Garin said all pregnant women in evacuation centers expected to give birth within the month should be transferred to the nearest government hospital.
“For this purpose, the chiefs of DOH hospitals and medical centers are instructed to ensure that their facilities are prepared for this purpose,” she said.
Garin ordered that local water, sanitation and hygiene teams be activated.
She said evacuation centers should be visited by DOH regional office directors, or their officially designated representatives every day starting yesterday.
Round-the-clock duty
Garin said DOH regional office staff and Nurse Deployment Program nurses must be deployed to evacuation centers and be present at DOH desks round-the-clock starting yesterday.
“DOH desks in evacuation centers must be stocked with medicines, emergency delivery kits, oral rehydration solutions, and other essential supplies,” she said.
Garin also ordered DOH personnel to wear vests or T-shirts with prominent DOH markings to ensure that evacuees, other government agencies and disaster response partners can easily identify them.
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