Tornado hits 5 barangays in Marawi City – report

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – A tornado hit several barangays in Marawi City at around 2 pm Monday, November 4, according to reports. 

Frank Gumapon, regional director of the Philippine Information Agency in Northern Mindanao, said the tornado affected 5 barangays in the city.

“Barangays Saber, Green, Luksa Datu, Fort, and Sagonsongan were affected, and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office is conducting an assessment of the damage,” he said.

Videos posted on social media showed the vortex as the winds picked up and the rain came. As the winds got stronger, the tornado started moving around the city.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that reaches from the base of a cloud to the ground in funnel shape. 

One video recorded from the Lanao del Sur Provincial Capitol showed the trees swaying and the rain getting stronger. 

Another recording showed roofs being ripped off and people scampering for safety. In a construction site, dust from stock cement inside the site made it difficult for construction workers to breathe, and some could be heard coughing in the video.

“Mayor Atty Majul Usman Gandamra said that the city government through the CDRRMO is ready to extend the needed assistance to the victims and the owners of the damaged structures,” Gumapon said.

The CDRRMO estimated the damage caused by the tornado at P720,000, not including the school building in Barangay Sagonsongan.

In Area 5 of that barangay, 7 classrooms of the Fountain Harvest School were totally damaged.

The CRRMO also reported the following in the 4 other affected barangays:

• Barangay Fort – 10 houses partially damaged;
• Bangon – 2 houses partially damaged, Buadi Sacayo Auditorium and a waiting shed destroyed; trees uprooted; 
• Green – 2 houses totally damaged, 12 houses partially damaged;
• Saber – 18 houses partially damaged, multicab partially damaged, trees uprooted.

Jennie Alonto Tamano of the Lanao del Sur Provincial Information Office said the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office is also conducting assessment in coordination with the city government. – Rappler.com