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8,000 stranded passengers in Matnog port evacuated to Sorsogon schools

stranded in Bicol due to Nina

Stranded passengers from Tabaco port are evacuated by the local government in Tabaco City, Albay province on December 24, 2016 after their seafaring vessels were prohibited from sailing ahead of typhoon Nock-Ten's expected arrival. Philippine authorities began evacuating thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports on December 24 as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the country's east coast on Christmas Day. Nock-Ten is expected to be packing winds of between 203-250 kilometres per hour (126-155 miles per hour) when it crosses over Catanduanes, a remote island of 250,000 people in the Bicol region, late Sunday, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. AFP PHOTO

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay—At least 8,791 stranded passengers in Matnog port spent their “Noche Buena” or Christmas eve dinner in different schools and holding areas in Sorsogon province.

Raden Dimaano, head of Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), said to lessen the queue of stranded passengers and vehicles in Matnog, they decided to move some of the rolling cargoes in nearby towns.

In Irosin, 48 buses were transferred from Matnog with 2,400 passengers while 15 buses with 682 passengers are now in Juban. In Casiguran, 11 buses with 578 passengers were moved while 40 buses with 2,015 passengers were transferred to Sorsogon City.

The Bicol region is bearing the brunt of Typhoon Nina (international name: Nock-Ten)

“These passengers were sheltered in different schools for them to be able to at least sleep well last night,” he said.

Some 30 buses with 2,544 passengers are still in Matnog port. At least 285 trucks and 156 light vehicles were also stranded in Matnog.

In Pilar port, 4 buses were stranded with 525 passengers. 47 passengers were also stranded in Bulan.

Dimaano said they have yet to order preemptive evacuation to families living in places at risk from flooding and storm surge.

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