Twister rips through Davao City brgys
DAVAO CITY – Residents in two barangays in the Agdao District here were thrown into panic after a tornado struck Sunday night, ravaging their homes and leaving at least two locals injured.
A waterspout formed over the Davao Gulf at around 7:30 p.m. and proceeded to swirl towards Barangays Lapu Lapu and Centro, ripping off roofs, uprooting trees and overturning small boats parked on the shores.
Mark Glenn Asenjo IV and his friends were playing street basketball when the twister came.
"Nikalit lang kusog ang hangin (Suddenly there was a strong wind)," Asenjo said.
Being a rescue volunteer, Asenjo immediately called on the village to get to safety as a large tornado was headed towards land.
Asenjo is one of the barangay's volunteers under its compass program, a group of emergency responders.
Asenjo didn't know he would be only 20 meters away from the twister, the spout blowing violent winds for around five minutes in the area before moving elsewhere.
"Kusog kaayo ang hangin, mapalid ang akoang kamot (the wind was so harsh it would almost blow my arm off)," he said, recalling how he and his friends needed to hang on to avoid being swept off by the winds.
Asenjo tried to take a video of the raging tornado on his phone camera, but could only take the footage of the strength of the wind blowing through the leaves in the dark night.
In some portions of Agdao, power was cut off.
Barangay Lapu Lapu Councilor Syreen Grace Icoy told The Manila Bulletin that the barangay gym has been utilized to house around 300 individuals.
Ironically, the weather disturbance occurred just as officials and resident were making final preparations for Barangay Lapu Lapu Day.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said at least two people were hurt. One of those injured was hit by a roof blown from a house.
At the Lapu-Lapu sitio of Inahan sa Kanunay Panabang (Mother of Perpetual Help), the tornado toppled a huge tree.
Local resident Alvin Remollo said he witnessed the spout make its way from the sea to his own home.
"Maayo kay hubas (good thing it was low tide)," he said. "Kung dili pa, nakapanukad unta to ug dala ug Tubig (were it high tide, there would have been floods along with the spout)."
Residents swear they saw the sky suck the sea into the heavens, the water gone for a moment before a funnel was formed.
Around Remollo's house were an uprooted tree with roots larger than the teenagers who guided local media to the places with the most damage.
At the bottom of a nearby house was a portion of a boat that had been blown in from the sea.
CDRRMO head Emmanuel Jaldon, Jr. told The Manila Bulletin that the disaster response teams alerted coastline communities about the threat with the use a disaster alert siren in Agdao, with Barangay Centro also threatened by the weather condition.
Myra Grace Remirata took a live video of the incident, which showed the threat blowing through various villages along the shores of Agdao.
Coastline residents were advised to move to evacuation centers and were assisted by personnel from the City Social services and developmnet office (CSSDO).