PNA
MANILA – A total of 5,929 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo helpers were stranded across various ports in areas to be hit by Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Thursday.
As of 4 p.m., the PCG said 101 seaports have cancelled sea travel, affecting 2,340 rolling cargoes, 81 vessels, and 31 motorbancas, particularly in Eastern Visayas and Southern Tagalog, Northeastern Mindanao, Central Visayas, and Bicol Region.
It said 355 vessels and 226 motorbancas took shelter due to Opong, which the weather bureau said, is forecast to reach typhoon category before making landfall over Northern Samar early Friday morning.
As of 8 p.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)said Opong continues to move closer towards Eastern Visayas.
It is now located 150 km. east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar, with maximum sustained winds of 110 km. per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 135 kph.
Throughout Friday, the weather bureau said Opong will move generally west-northwestward near or over Sibuyan Sea and traverse the mainland and/or island provinces of the Bicol Region, southern Calabarzon, and northern Mimaropa, before emerging over the West Philippine Sea early Saturday morning.
On Wednesday, the PCG Eastern Visayas District has placed all its stations and sub-stations under heightened alert status in response to the ongoing threat posed by Opong in the region. (PNA)
