Storm grounds travelers

in Negros Occidental
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Hundreds of passengers were stranded yesterday after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Negros Occidental ordered a suspension on sea travel due to Typhoon “Tisoy.”
PCG-Southern Visayas District operations chief, Ensign Darell John Hernaez, said around 150 to 250 passengers were stranded at Bacolod City’s Bredco Port.
He added, most of the passengers were bound for Iloilo City.
In response, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office cluster head, Executive Assistant Joemarie Vargas, said stranded passengers will be temporarily sheltered for at Education and Training Center School IV in the city’s Barangay 16.
In San Carlos City, 120 passengers bound for Toledo City, Cebu were also stuck at port. Meanwhile, the Barcelona Port in Escalante City recorded around 50 passengers and 155 rolling cargo stranded.
Additionally, Pulupandan Port and Bacolod City’s Banago Port have not recorded any stranded passengers.
Hernaez said the provincial PCG has been placed on alert since last week after the country’s weather bureau began tracking the storm.
The PCG in Negros Occidental has also ordered its personnel to prepare their quick response teams.
Earlier on Sunday, the PCG immediately suspended all sea trips in the northern part of Negros Occidental after the area was placed under a Storm Signal No. 1./DGB, WDJ