85 homes destroyed by strong winds, heavy downpour on Maundy Thursday in Kabacan
Local News • 06:30 AM Sat Mar 30, 2024
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
HOME GONE. Local disaster workers inspect a totally damaged semi-concrete home in Barangay Kayaga, Kabacan, Cotabato province following heavy downpour with strong winds on Maundy Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Kabacan MDRRMO)
COTABATO CITY – Heavy downpour and strong winds that battered Kabacan town in Cotabato province amid excruciating heat on Maundy Thursday have left 85 homes destroyed, the local disaster office said today.
Municipal Mayor Evangeline Pascua-Guzman who also chairs the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), said four villages were hardly hit by the heavy downpour and what locals believed was mild tornado at started at about 3 p.m.
Of the 28 affected homes 28 were totally destroyed and 57 were partially damaged.
Cotabato province have experiencing a 40 degrees Celsius heat index at the time of the heavy downpour that surprised locals, some were jubilant.
“Salamat sa ulan Lord (Thank you for the rain, Lord), pero ayaw kayo kusgi kay basig mubaha (but don’t make it too strong, it might trigger floods),” Shine Shine Teng, a resident of Kabacan posted on her FB page.
Hailstorm was also reported in Sitio Liton, Barangay Kayaga, Kabacan during the heavy downpour.
“Umulan ng ice dito sa amin (we have hail storm here),” Junalun Natividad Suminguit said in social media.
Five homes were also partly destroyed in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato during the quick rain accompanied by strong winds on Thursday afternoon as the Roman Catholic faithful prepare for the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper Church activities.
In Datu Montawal, Maguindanao del Sur, electric posts were toppled and several homes were flooded.