The Eastern Visayas Regional Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) has canceled land travel of all vehicles bound for Luzon and Mindanao ahead of a tropical storm’s looming entry into the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) to avoid stranding in ports.
RDRRMC chairperson Lord Byron Torrecarion said the body issued the memorandum that took effect 8 a.m. on Tuesday, following the post-disaster risk assessment core group meeting night of Dec. 13.
“This covers buses, trucks, and private cars unless they are already in transit during the effectivity of cancellation. On top of the incoming typhoon, we are also concerned with the gale warning issued today (Dec. 14) for the eastern seaboard Southern Luzon and the Visayas. We don’t want people and cargoes to be stranded in ports,” Torrecarion said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
When a gale warning is raised, fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves.
The directive to suspend is also in connection with the travel advisory issued by RDRRMCs in Bicol and Caraga regions.
The port in the towns of Allen and San Isidro in Northern Samar are the region’s entry and exit points to Luzon.
In Southern Leyte, the ports of San Ricardo and Liloan are the region’s gateways to Mindanao.
Between these islands, there are regular trips of roll-on roll-off ferries carrying passengers, cargoes, and vehicles.
As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the center of the Severe Tropical Storm Rai (to be locally named Odette) was estimated at 1,165 kilometers east of Mindanao.
It has maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center and moves west-northwest at 30 km/h.
Source: Philippines News Agency
