TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte
– As the country nears the annual commemoration of the National
Maritime Day celebration, Typhoon “Milenyo” paralyzed sea transport in
the Visayas since yesterday causing thousands of travelers stranded.
All the trips of
Supercat ferry within the Visayas were cancelled since yesterday.
Other ports in Allen, Northern Samar and in Liloan, Southern Leyte
were also closed to traffic, reports said.
Tropical Storm Milenyo
with maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour near the
center and gustiness of 130 kilometers per hour, battered
Northern Samar as it landfell east of the province’s capital town of
Catarman at
2:00 o’clock this afternoon, a report from PIA Northern Samar stated.
All three Samar
provinces continue to experience stormy weather. The same is true for
Bicol Region. The rest of Eastern Visayas and the rest of Southern
Luzon, PAGASA reported will have rains with gusty winds and the
coastal waters along these areas will continue to be moderate to
rough.
When reached, Aboitiz
Shipping Lines, the operators of the Supercat fast ferries, said that
it is not yet sure when the trips to the different
Visayan islands will resume. This will depend on the bulletin issued
by the PAGASA, informant said. The Philippine Port Authorities will
not issue the order to go on with the travel if the PAGASA weather
bulletin does not say so that it is already safe to travel by sea.
The safety of the
passengers is the main reason why the scheduled trips were cancelled,
the same informant said. The shipping company does not want to put the
lives of the thousands of passengers in danger.
Meanwhile, not only
did typhoon Milenyo inconvenienced the stranded passengers, the
porters at the different sea ports also complained that they have had
no income for two days already because of the cancellation of trips.
The fishermen whose
source of livelihood is going to the sea, are enjoined to stay ashore
in the safety of their homes while typhoon Milenyo continues to batter
the Central Philippines.
