MANILA: Tropical Storm Wukong left six people dead and two missing as it cut through the central Philippines, following devastating Typhoon Bopha that killed hundreds earlier this month, officials said yesterday.
The toll from the latest storm was relatively low as the public, alarmed by the huge number of fatalities left by Bopha, were quick to take precautionary measures, civil defence chief Benito Ramos said. “They were all aware that a typhoon was coming. They were all aware of what happened with (Bopha). The deaths are minimal compared to (Bopha),” he said.
Three people were killed when a tree fell on their home in the central island of Samar while three others were washed away by overflowing rivers, he said.
The civil defence office earlier said five were confirmed dead and three missing but this was adjusted after one body was recovered, said Ramos.
The Philippine Coast Guard said more than 9,000 people were stranded in several ports in the country. Coast Guard spokesman Commandant Armand Balilo said the number of passengers waiting in seaports has already reached 9,402 as of early afternoon yesterday.
In the South Harbour and the North Harbour in Metro Manila alone, the number of stranded passengers reached 2,550.
The Office of Civil Defence in Bicol added some 2,324 passengers were stranded in various ports, as the Coast Guard strictly imposed a no-sailing policy during the passing of the storm. “The damages were very minimal. As of this time, there’s no casualty,” Ramos said, adding that the number of stranded passengers and rolling cargoes have also gone down, as the Coast Guard has lifted suspension of port operations in some of the storm affected areas.
Some 41 domestic flights were also cancelled after Quinta made landfall in several parts of the Visayas since Tuesday.
Cebu Pacific cancelled 33 domestic flights from Manila to Caticlan, Legaspi, Virac, Roxas and Tuguegarao and its turn-around flights and eight flights of Zest Air for Masbate, Tacloban and Kalibo and its turn-around flights.
Transmission service provider National Grid Corp of the Philippines is checking transmission facilities damaged by the storm. The lines from Borangan-McArthur 69-kilovolt line, the Taft-Borongan 69kv line and the Sogod-Maasin 69kv line reportedly tripped between the evening of December 25 and early morning yesterday.
This happened after some 57,000 consumers of the Cebu Electric Cooperative Inc were affected by a power outage after Quinta hit northern Cebu early yesterday.
Thirteen towns, including Tuburan, Tabuelan, Tabogon, Catmon, Sogod, Carmen, Medellin, San Remigio, Compostela, Borbon, and Daanbantayan, as well as the cities of Bogo and Danao, experienced the power outage.
Agencies
