Six vessels grounded in Cebu due to ‘Onyok’

SIX vessels were grounded by the Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu station due to the presence of tropical depression Onyok in Caraga region and other parts of Mindanao.

Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu station commander Agapito Bibat said they barred a vessel of Cokaliong Shipping Lines from sailing at 7 pm last night for Surigao City and another vessel from

Trans-Asia scheduled to leave for Cagayan de Oro City at 8 p.m. also last night.

Other vessels were headed to the cities of Dapitan, Surigao, Ozamiz, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro as well as Nasipit town in Agusan del Norte province.

There were 435 passengers and 25 rolling cargoes stranded as a result.

Based on a 5 p.m. weather bulletin from the state weather bureau Pag-asa, Onyok packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kph.

It was located at  515 km East of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur at 4 pm and is moving west at 15 kph.

Several areas in Mindanao were placed under signal number 1: Surigao del Sur including Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Province, Misamis Oriental, Camiguin, Agusan del Norte,

Agusan del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Misamis Occidental.

If Onyok continues to move westward, Cebu and other parts of Central Visayas may be spared but will still experience rain, Pag-asa Visayas director Oscar Tabada said.

But Tabada warned that southern Cebu may be affected if ever Onyok changes direction.

He said Pag-asa is considering at least three scenarios once Onyok will make landfall tonight (Friday evening) in Surigao area.

First, Tabada said, Onyok will move in a west-southwest direction after its landfall in Surigao area due to the strong northeast monsoon (amihan).

If so it will be at the vicinity of Zamboanga del Norte tomorrow morning.

If the northeast monsoon weakens while Onyok is still at sea, Onyok will become a tropical storm when it makes landfall tonight.

By then, it will move through a westward direction going to Cagayan de Oro City area and to the Negros area. If that happens, southern Cebu will be affected, Tabada said.

Tabada said a third scenario will have Onyok disintegrate upon interaction with the land or upon its landfall.

But Tabada said the first scenario is most likely to happen, which means that there’s a big probability that Onyok move westward.

Whatever the scenario is, Tabada said Onyok will still bring rain over Cebu and Central Visayas starting today (Friday) and Saturday.

The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) is still monitoring on the direction of the tropical depression.

Cebu City Councilor Joy Tumulak, who chairs the CCDRRMC, said their monitoring showed that Onyok changed towards a westward direction, so Cebu City is still safe.