Whirlwind wrecks houses in La Union

By Freddie G. Lazaro

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — At least 20 houses were destroyed or damaged when a whirlwind swept across three barangays in this city Monday afternoon , the Office of Civil Defense in Region 1 reported.

In his report to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, OCD Region 1 Director Melchito Castro identified barangays affected by the whirlwind as Ilocanos Sur, Ilocanos Norte, and Poro, all in this city.

The whirlwind occurred around 12:30 p.m., wrecking 10 houses in Barangay Ilocanos Sur; three houses in Barangay Ilocos Norte and seven more in SitioTawi-Tawi, Barangay Poro, said Castro.

Apart from totally destroying several of these houses, the whirlwind also wrecked a motorized banca and street lights on its path.

“The assessment of the damaged houses is still going on,” said Castro, but an initial estimate put the cost of destruction at P200,000.

One resident, a certain Gerald Lomboy, 18, was  injured, the OCD report said.

           

Meanwhile, classes from pre-school to high school had been suspended in some areas of the province battered with heavy rains since Monday.

           

These include the areas of Bauang, San Juan, and San Fernanado City, said Governor Manuel Ortega following the alert from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration that typhoon “Igme” had maneuvered back to the country.