‘Wilma’ disrupts air, sea travels

Local

SEA and air travel across Cebu ground to a halt on Friday, Dec. 5.

This, after Tropical Depression Wilma stirred up dangerous sea conditions and forced transport authorities to suspend voyages and airlines to cancel flights, stranding hundreds ahead of the weekend.

The Philippine Coast Guard–District Central Visayas (PCG-DCV) confirmed that all inbound and outbound sea trips across its stations remained suspended as of noon on Friday.

The suspension was due to rough seas caused by Typhoon Wilma and the ongoing Northeast Monsoon. In an advisory, PCG personnel stated, "For info, suspended pa tanan outbound and inbound byahe all stations of Coast Guard District Central Visayas."

Between 8 a.m. and 12 noon on Friday, PCG-DCV recorded 947 stranded passengers, 389 rolling cargoes, 53 vessels, and 15 motorbancas affected by the suspension.

Meanwhile, air travel disruptions occurred as well. The Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA) announced several flight cancellations as of 10 a.m., impacting routes between Cebu and parts of Mindanao.

The canceled departures included flights DG6791 (Cebu–Ozamiz), DG6803 (Cebu–Ozamiz), and DG6641 (Cebu–Pagadian). Canceled arrivals were DG6792 (Ozamiz–Cebu), DG6804 (Ozamiz–Cebu), and DG6642 (Pagadian–Cebu).

Airport authorities urged travelers to monitor airline advisories and verify flight status before heading to MCIA.

Wilma maintained its strength while moving west-southwest toward Eastern Visayas. As of 10 a.m., its center was located 235 km east of Borongan City, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h, gusts up to 55 km/h, and moving at 15 km/h.

Pagasa warned that Wilma may dump 50 to 100 millimeters of rain within 24 hours, enough to fill up to 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools in a single day.

Cebu, along with Bantayan and Camotes Islands, remains under Signal No. 1, indicating strong winds and minimal to minor threats to life and property.

Wilma is expected to make landfall or pass close to Eastern Visayas between Friday night and Saturday morning, then traverse the Visayas until Sunday before exiting toward the Sulu Sea and approaching northern Palawan by Monday.(TGP)