THE sky was overcast Tuesday afternoon as the Bahena family was caught in traffic in the South Coastal Road.
Suddenly, the van ride home placed them in the middle of a scene like something out of a movie.
At a distance, a strange whirl of wind and dark clouds took shape at about 2 p.m
Cathleen Kaye Bahena, 21, got her smartphone and started taking a video.
At first, the funnel shape of the tornado was not clear.
“We were not that near, but we got scared because we saw tin roofs and debris flying around,” she told Cebu Daily News.
Her video of the April 8 tornado in south Cebu City, which she posted on Facebook, went viral.
With the images came Bahena’s shouts of surprise recorded on the video as debris came nearer: “hoow maygaaad…”, followed by incessant honking as her husband tried to steer their van out of harm’s way.
“Actually the video was really funny,” said the medical technology student after watching the clip.
“I was screaming at the same time laughing. I really didn’t know that was my reaction.”
The couple was heading home to barangay Labangon, Cebu City, with their two children in the back seat.
The van was in the outer lane facing the sea, giving them a clear view of the cloud funnel.
Traffic was crawling, she said, so they stayed in the van. Her husband encouraged her to record the strange sight.
The young mother was surprised at how popular her video became.
As of 9:30 last night, over 24 hours after she posted it, the video reached 9,951 “shares”.
Bahena giggled at times and expressed embarrassment over her frantic shout “hoowmaygaaad…”
“I was nervous and scared during that time. That’s why I said that,” said Bahena.
So far no one has posted any offensive comments although she’s been asked why she was laughing while watching a tornado that later damaged 30 houses in barangay Mambaling.
When she got home, Bahena uploaded the video on her computer.
“We took and uploaded the video so that the people would know what was happening in their place, so that they would have this to remember,” she said.
The tornado packed 200 kilometers per hour winds, and developed over barangay Tisa, moved to barangay Mambaling, the South Road Properties, then to San Roque, Talisay City before it dissipated over the sea.
Major TV networks and newspapers used her video, providing a face to the unusual phenomenon.
At first, Bahena’s post was only viewed by her friends. Minutes later, she received private messages from her friends asking her to change the settings so it could be viewed by the public.
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