Roofs fly off; 13 injured, 30 houses damaged in Metro Cebu

Roofs of small houses were blown off in Mandaue and Mactan island. Utility posts were uprooted.

The damage by a tornado during Monday s thunderstorm extended to the northern town of Compostela, catching people by surprise, damaging more than 30 houses and injuring 13 people past 8 p.m.

One of the hardest hit was barangay Tingo in Olango Island off Mactan.
Classes were suspended as trees and power cables were scattered on the roads, making it dangerous for children to move around.

Barangay captain Janet Amorin asked the barangay council to declare a state of calamity.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza, who visited the area with city engineer Allan Pedrigal, said 10 houses of light materials were damaged with missing roofs and some thrown a distance away.

Tress were uprooted and seven utility posts were toppled by falllen trees.

An assessment is ongoing.

In Mandaue city, 27 houses were damaged in barangays Looc and Tipolo.

Roger Paller, city information officer said strong winds blew off roofs of houses. Debris littered the St. James Amusement Park in the reclamation area where its fence was damaged.

The glass walls of a restaurant in Park Mall along the North Reclamation area were shattered.
‘Another quake’
Strong winds reportedly carried a passenger Multicab before it fell on its side. Four passengers sustained minor bruises.

A 42-year-old resident of barangay Looc, Arnel Hayag, was with his child when strong winds battered his home made of light materials.

He said he thought there was another earthquake as it rained and blew hard outside.
The Mandaue City government distributed food packs of rice and canned goods, aside from canvass sheets for use as tents.

Nine injured residents of barangay Looc, Mandaue City were brought to the Mandaue City District Hospital.

City officials pegged the damage sustained by homeowners at half a million pesos.

Those injured were identified as Leo Rafael Sarmiento, Lorna Alvios, Val Cabasa, Gilda Matbaga, Esperansa Ermac, Benirando Ermac, Glendo Ermac, Dolora Piscante and Melisa Ordineza.

In Lapu-Lapu City, the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD 7) reported five damaged houses in sitio Kaisko in barangay Mactan. A steel electric post was uprooted, resulting in a power outage.

The tornado struck just before 8 p.m. “Everything happened so fast. All of us were in the living room when our house turned upside down,” resident Ceria Lucero said.

In Compostela town, three houses were damaged. a Stonecraft shop owned by Kenneth Ramirez and Antonio Natad was completelyu washed out. The turn of a mahogany tree broke off and fell on the national highway, slowing traffic.

Flor Gaviola, administrative officer of the Office of Civil Defense in Central Visayas (OCD-7), identified the four injured victims in Mactan as Lea Oliveros, 39; her unnamed husband; Reynaldo Oliveros, 51 and Dixie Hyacinth Kim Pepito 20.

In Compostela town, three houses were also damaged in sitio Lutao, barangay Estaca when the tornado hit at 7:50 pm last Monday.

Leonida Goc-ong, barangay Estaca chairperson, said nine houses were destroyed while a fallen 50-year-old mango tree blocked traffic at Purok Manga.

Several businesses like export company Furnicast Factory and Pepcast Shop reported damages estimated at more than P200,000.

Several houses in barangay Kalunasan in Cebu City were damaged and power was cut in the wake of the storm, the Cebu City disaster council said.

“It was dark when we got there (at 10 p.m.). There was a blackout because one of the trees fell on the supply wires of Veco (Visayan Electric Co.),” Cebu City disaster management council chief Simeon Romarate said.

There were no injuries or casualties in Cebu City. Mayor Michael Rama immediately had the city’s roads cleared of debris including fallen trees and branches early morning yesterday. With reports from Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza and Bjorn Abraham Tabanera and STC Intern Justine L. Espina