SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/18 December) — Close to a thousand passengers and 108 rolling cargoes were stranded at the Lipata Port in Surigao City as authorities braced for Tropical Depression Onyok which was expected to make landfall on Friday night in Mindanao’s eastern provinces.
Allan Yap, Lipata Port Manager said passengers received meals this afternoon from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the city.
Yap said they were trying to set up a phone booth with the help of a telephone company so stranded passengers could call their relatives.
Surigao City Vice Mayor Danilo Menor, acting mayor, suspended classes for all preschool pupils.
Stranded passengers at the Lipata Port in Surigao City. MindaNews photo by Roel Catoto
City information officer Annette Villaces said all 54 barangays in the city had conducted “rekorida” or mobile information drive to warn people of Onyok.
Since Thursday morning no boats were allowed to leave port in Surigao City, Siargao and Dinagat Islands, according to Geoffrey Gervo, station commander of Philippine Coast Guard.
There were no flights to and from Cebu and Manila at Surigao Airport.
Residents along coastal areas in the city moved their boats to higher ground.
In Dinagat Island, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ordered a preemptive evacuation of residents in high-risk areas. (Roel Catoto/MindaNews)