Gray skies, rain until weekend

CEBU, Philippines -  Portions of the Visayas, including Cebu, will continue to experience gray skies and rain until this weekend.

This is because the tail-end of a cold front, a rain-producing weather system, still prevails over the Visayas even as the low pressure area over Mindanao has dissipated, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration -Visayas said.

Weather specialist Netherlen Saletrero told The FREEMAN yesterday that the LPA over Mindanao, which affected the Visayas, dissipated yesterday morning.

However, because of the tail-end of a cold front, Cebu province will continue to experience intermittent, light to moderate rains.

Saletrero said winds intensified yesterday and helped blow cloud clusters apart. The downside, she said, is that strong winds can trigger rough conditions in open seas with waves reaching 4.5 meters in height.

In fact, PAGASA issued a gale warning at 5 a.m. yesterday over the Central Visayas seaboards, including Cebu province, alerting the coast guard stations.

Because of unfavorable sea conditions, more than 20 vessel operators in Cebu province cancelled trips since Monday, which stranded hundreds of passengers.

Philippine Coast Guard Station - Cebu Commander Dionilett Ampil said nearly 500 passengers were stranded at terminals.

In compliance with an existing memorandum circular, vessels less than 250 gross tons are prohibited from venturing into seas while larger vessels may continue to travel depending on the discretion of the vessel’s captain or the shipping line owner.

Safe

The two fishermen from Argao town whose boat was battered by strong winds and big waves were found alive in the waters off Siquijor.

Cornelio Escalante, 65, and Vicente Igos from Barangay Langtad were missing at sea for more than 10 hours before they were rescued by Siquijor fishermen yesterday afternoon. They reportedly went missing around 4 a.m. yesterday, according to the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.

The island province of Siquijor is roughly more than 131 kilometers or 71 nautical miles from the municipality of Argao.

Kent Rizon, Argao Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council head, said the fishermen were weak when found. — May B. Miasco and Kristine B. Quintas (FREEMAN)