Hundreds stranded as typhoon cancels boat trips
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ordered the cancellation of all trips of pumpboat and fast crafts yesterday after the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) declared Iloilo under storm signal number 1 because of typhoon Feria.
Coast Guard on duty Reynaldo Poblacion said they made the cancellation of trips as early as 11:30 a.m. yesterday after Pagasa released its weather bulletin.
Pump boats plying Iloilo City-Guimaras and vice versa were barred from sailing across the Guimaras Strait, as a result hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Parola and Ortiz wharfs.
PCG also prevented the sailing of fast crafts from Iloilo to Bacolod, vice versa. The same order was imposed on all shipping vessels here docking at the Dumangas port.
The PCG has a standing policy that no vessel shall be allowed to travel except to take shelter whenever storm signal is raised in areas affected by typhoon. The cancellation of trips during a storm signal was already disseminated in the motor boat associations in the island province of Guimaras.
The new rules of the PCG said ships below 1,000 gross tons will not be allowed to set sail if Typhoon Signal No. 1 is hoisted over its voyage area while all kinds of vessels are barred from sailing if storm signal is up.
Meantime, classes were suspended in all public elementary schools in the city yesterday afternoon. Students were sent home yesterday by their teachers and advised to wait for announcements when to resume their classes. Classes in the elementary level are automatically suspended when the place is declared under typhoon signal number 1.
Pprivate schools like Central Philippine University and Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus also announced the suspension of classes in the elementary level because of typhoon Feria.