Gale warning strands 500 passengers in Cebu ports

CEBU CITY—At least 500 passengers were stranded at four ports in Cebu after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) barred 16 vessels from sailing due to a gale warning signal issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday.

Commander Dionlett Ampil of the PCG in Cebu said that affected trips were bound for Bantayan Island (northern Cebu), San Carlos City (Negros Occidental), Tubigon town (Bohol), Camotes Island (Cebu) and Ormoc City (Leyte).

“Vessels which are 250 gross tons and below are not allowed to sail. To those 250 gross tons and above, they can also cancel their trips if waves are really rough,” Ampil said.

Around 500 passengers were stranded at the ports of Hagnaya in San Remigio, Toledo City, and Danao City as well as Pier 4 in Cebu City.

Cebu and some provinces in the Visayas had been experiencing rains and were issued gale warnings due to a low pressure area and the tail end of the cold front caused by overlapping of warm and cold winds in the upper latitude.

As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the low pressure area at the east northeast of Zamboanga City had dissipated. JE/rga