Light to moderate rains for Cebu until Saturday

CEBU will continue to experience light to moderate rains today even as tropical depression Salome continued to move northward yesterday evening.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Salome was located 65 kilometers southwest of Pili, Camarines Sur, with wind speeds of 25 kilometers per hour (kph).

Salome has maximum winds of 55 kph and gustiness of up to 90 kph. Signal number 1 was already lifted for parts of the Visayas yesterday afternoon.

Pagasa–Mactan weather specialist Alice Canasa said the tropical depression is expected to leave the country tomorrow afternoon, November 11.

“We will continue to experience some rains in Cebu until Saturday,” she said in a phone interview.

Canasa advised people living in landslide-prone areas to be careful at all times and to take shelter in evacuation areas if necessary.

At the Ormoc port, 100 passengers bound for Cebu were stranded from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) prohibited sea vessels from sailing due to Salome.

When signal 1 was lifted in Ormoc, five passenger and cargo vessels were allowed to depart, said an official of PCG Eastern Visayas who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on behalf of his superiors.

Close to 500 passengers bound for different areas in the Visayas were stranded in Ormoc.

“All passengers were allowed to sail by 4 p.m.,” he said.