PIKIT, North Cotabato — A twister swept through three interior villages here late Thursday afternoon, wounding seven residents and destroying 152 houses, mosque and a school, a disaster official today said.
Tahira Kalatongan of the Pikit municipal disaster risk reduction and management council (MDRRMC), said in a radio interview that the victims were residents of Barangays Manaulanan, Punol and Pamalian where the twister swept through at past 3 p.m.
Kalantongan said the twister flattened at least 150 houses made of light materials located in an open field.
“The injured residents were hit by flying debris, mostly house materials and fallen tree branches,” Kalatongan said, adding that among the damaged were a Mosque and an Islamic school building.
Kalantongan also said relief aid had been extended to more than 100 families affected by the twister.
She said twisters normally occur in the vast Maguindanao marshland but “this was the worst, very strong that it toppled trees.”
In nearby Pagalungan and Datu Montawal municipalities in Maguindanao, the strong winds at the height of the heavy downpour toppled acacia and banana trees along portions of the Cotabato-Davao highway, causing traffic jam for about an hour. (PNA)
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