Home 
Tropical storm “Feria” has claimed the life of a fisherman on Bantayan Island in northern Cebu and has left more than 1,000 passengers stranded in various ports in Cebu and the Visayas.
Vicente Layague, 70, suffered fatal head wounds when he was slammed against the rocks in barangay Hilutungan, an islet-village that belongs to Bantayan town, one of the three municipalities comprising Bantayan Island.
Layague, a resident of the village, was fishing near the shoreline when he was caught in strong waves, said Bantayan town Mayor Geralyn Escario-Cañares.
She said relatives of Layague went to her office to seek her help.
Bantayan and the rest of northern Cebu were placed under storm signal number 2, prompting the suspension of classes in the pre-school and elementary level. Storm signal number one was raised over the rest of Cebu province.
Some 1,064 passengers were stranded after 60 vessels were prohibited from sailing from the different ports of Central and Eastern Visayas, including Cebu, since yesterday morning because of tropical storm Feria.
These include 30 vessels in Cebu with 248 affected passengers; 17 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, 76 affected passengers; three in Maasin City, Southern Leyte with 93 affected passengers; three in Tacloban City, Leyte with 27 affected passengers; and seven in Catbalogan City, Samar, with 620 affected passengers.
According to Coast Guard Central Eastern Visayas chief of staff Anelito Gabisan, all vessels with 1,000 gross tonnage and below were not allowed to sail in areas listed under storm signal number 1.
Those weighing more than 1,000 gross tonnage may be allowed to sail but on the discretion of the ship captain.
No vessel would be allowed to leave the port in areas placed under storm signal number 2.
Affected ports in Cebu include ports in Cebu City, Hagnaya, San Remegio, Sta. Fe in Bantayan, Danao City and the Camotes Islands.
Most stranded passengers in Cebu City ports were bound for Tubigon town and Tagbilaran City in Bohol, especially that all fast crafts were also barred from sailing.
Among those who were supposed to head to Tagbilaran were Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and the rest of the Regional Development Council members for a scheduled RDC meeting in Bohol yesterday morning.
But the storm forced Garcia, RDC Central Visayas chairperson, to cancel the RDC meeting.
Instead, Garcia called for a special meeting of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) yesterday morning to prepare for the possible damage that may be brought by the storm.
“We don’t want everybody to be caught off guard. I also hope that all the local chief executives will remain in their areas of jurisdiction so that they could immediately respond to the needs of their constituents,” she said.
Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said heavy equipment and engineering personnel were on stand by in the Camotes Islands.
Senior Supt. Jesus Gaquing, provincial police director, said the different police chiefs were instructed to be on alert and to immediately report any casualty or damage caused by the typhoon.
Provincial Social Welfare Officer Marivic Garces said that Capitol had enough supplies to distribute to the affected local government units.
She said they have at least 400 sacks of rice, 55 boxes of sardines and boxes of noodles and other canned goods and mats and blankets.
In its weather bulletin 2 issued at 11:30 a.m. yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (Pagasa) upgraded Feria from a tropical depression to tropical storm.
As of 4 p.m., the center of Feria was located about 40 km south-southeast of Catarman, Northern Samar, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kilometers per hour.
The storm was moving west-northwest at 22 kph. It was expected to hit Metro Manila this afternoon and Laoag City on Thursday.
Pagasa also raised storm signal number 2 over Samar provinces, Leyte and Biliran Island and signal number 1 over Southern Leyte, Camotes Islands in Cebu, Bohol, Northern Negros, Capiz, Iloilo and Aklan.
The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) said that four families or 23 people in sitio Tipolo, barangay Guadalupe , Cebu City, were evacuated because their houses were located in landslide-prone areas.
The CCDCC also raised the red alert level in five coastal barangays in Cebu City due to strong waves and unusually high tide.
Officials of barangays Suba, Pasil, Sawang Calero, Duljo Fatima and Ermita were asked to monitor their constituents living near the coastline, according to Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo.
Ermita barangay captain Felicisimo Rupinta said 40 families were affected when the water level rose in his village.
In barangay Sawang Calero, about 100 households were affected by the floods.
Some portions of barangay Mabolo were also flooded.
In the meantime, Mandaue City officials identified disaster prone areas yesterday in anticipation of heavy rains spawned by Feria.
These included mostly riverside communities, such as those near the AD Gothong Road and the area around the Innodata building in Subangdaku. The CDCC-Mandaue also identified flood prone communities near Mahiga creek.
Mayor Jonas Cortes set up a command center based at the Accident Control and Emergency Rescue Team (Acert) station at the Mandaue City Sports Complex to monitor these five barangays every two hours.
Two new dump trucks were also placed on standby at the sports complex. A third truck was parked at the Cebu City boundary in barangay Subangdaku.
Being monitored were residents living near Mantuyong River in barangay Maguikay and Ibabao-Estancia and Butuanon River along barangays Paknaan and Cabancalan. /With a report from Reporters Doris C. Bongcac, Dale Israel and Marian Z. Codilla and Inquirer
