Sea, air travel cancelled as Milenyo wreaks havoc

Flights bound for Manila and voyages of inter-island ferries to different provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao were temporarily cancelled yesterday morning due to heavy rains spawned by tropical storm "Milenyo."

Philippine Airlines sales and services manager Jun Canton said at least three PAL flights bound for Manila were diverted due to the storm.

In an interview with The Freeman, Canton said they have decided to cancel several flights for the safety of passengers. He however said that by 3:00 p.m. yesterday, the operations went back to normal as all flights were already allowed to push through.

"Some (passengers) have rebooked their flights while other passengers waited for possible changes. Yesterday, our 3:00 p.m. flight was allowed to leave at 4:55 (p.m.) while our 5:15 (p.m.) flight left on schedule," he said.

After the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration lifted the public storm signal, the Philippine Coast Guard said that it already allowed ships to leave the Cebu port as of 5:00 p.m. yesterday.

Ships bound for Leyte and Manila were already allowed to sail yesterday afternoon. Manila-bound ships below 3,000-gross tonnage were not allowed to leave the port in the morning.

Torrential rains caused widespread flooding throughout the central and northern parts of the country as the government was forced to close several schools, financial markets and transport links. Gale-force winds uprooted trees, blew down power lines and damaged buildings.

Power was shut down throughout Luzon as a precautionary measure, as the storm, the 10th to hit the country this year, knocked down power lines throughout the island, which left 43 million people without electricity.

Two of the main highways leading to Manila were closed due to flooding, fallen trees and scattered debris.

The typhoon weakened into a tropical storm as it crossed Luzon moving at 19 kilometers per hour with maximum winds of 110 kilometers per hour.

All schools and financial markets in Manila were closed while international and domestic flights from Manila were all cancelled. Inter-island shipping was also halted in areas affected by the typhoon. - Jasmin R. Uy/LPM