LEGAZPI CITY –– At least 526 passengers, 156 trucks, and 41 cars were stranded on Wednesday following the cancellation of sea transport operations in various Bicol ports in anticipation of the landfall of Tropical Depression “Ofel” in Masbate around noon, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said.
The cancellation also affected 17 sea vessels, 11 of which took shelter in the ports of Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur.
The OCD has directed all local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils to activate their respective Emergency Operation Centers and implement response and contingency plans, to include pre-emptive evacuation in areas threatened by flood, landslide, and storm surge.
Earlier Wednesday, the state weather bureau placed the entire Bicol region under storm signal number 1.