Tornado hits downtown Angeles; disaster alert on

ANGELES CITY — First there were swirling winds, then a heavy downpour, marked by lightning and thunder, plunging the city’s downtown area into total darkness. This, as the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" about a weather cataclysm, ended its local run.

Taking no chances, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin has ordered the city’s disaster coordinating council to be on 24-hour alert for rescue following the tornado that hit the downtown area at about 8 p.m. last Friday, followed by unusual heavy rains that started pouring also at about 8 p.m. the day after.

Hundreds of local folk were stranded Friday night as powerful swirling winds and heavy rains, coupled with powerful lightning and thunder, plunged this city’s downtown area into darkness as trees collapsed on electric wires and galvanized iron roofs were peeled off scores of houses.

The tornado, which lasted for about half an hour, also froze cellular phone communications for a few minutes. Electricity in the downtown area was restored only the day after.

City information officer Irish Calaguas said the eye of last Friday’s tornado seemed to be in the area of the Sto. Rosario Church, where motorists were forced to stop as floodwaters rose and winds swirled with assorted debris.

Motorists turned on their emergency lights, but most of them opted to park on roadsides as large raindrops lashed against their vehicles’ windshields and reduced visibility to zero.

"It was fortunate that the tornado lasted for only about half an hour and struck on a Friday night when most local folk were at home, so we did not have any report of injuries," she said.

She said the tornado struck a day after local theaters, located less than a kilometer from the Sto. Rosario Church, ended the showing of "The Day After Tomorrow," a movie about an abrupt weather change that paved the way for the return of the ice age in the northern hemisphere.

"Local folk lined up to see the movie even on its last day, so I suppose their having seen it added to their anxiety over the true-to-life weather since last Friday," she said.

Former National Basketball League player Ricmar Garcia, a resident of Barangay Sta. Teresita about a kilometer away from the Sto. Rosario Church, said scores of houses in his barangay lost their roofs during the tornado.

"The raindrops were so large that they even penetrated umbrellas," he said.

Lazatin said the flashfloods did not last since drainage pipes have been cleared during the dry months.

"I urge the people to stay at home whenever they observe any hints of bad weather. If they have to venture out, I advise them to bring umbrellas or raincoats and stay put in strong buildings if the weather gets worse," he said.