Twister flattens houses in Zamboanga City village

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A twister swept across a coastal village and flattened more than 40 stilt houses of sea gypsies off the shore Thursday night in this city, according to authorities.

No one was reported dead or injured in the disaster that displaced more than 70 families with over 200 defended at sitio Layag-Layag in Barangay Talon-Talon, accordins.g to Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar.

Chief Inspector Elmer Acuña, police station 6 commander, said the affected residents, who belong to the Muslim’s Badjao tribe, evacuated the area about 9 p.m. after sensing the approaching bad weather and took shelter at the barangay hall overnight.

Affected residents told village leaders that strong winds lashed their houses, prompting them to evacuate.

Teodyver Arquiza, barangay councilor of Talo-Talon who assisted the residents in the area, said the affected families saw how the twister was building up and swept through clusters of stilt houses.

“The twisters flattened around 40 houses where it passed last night,” Arquiza said.

According to Arquiza, the affected residents said  that what struck their area was not storm surge citing that the sea was not rough.

“The affected residents began to evacuate as rains started to fall heavily and the strong winds coming from different directions were building up. And as they fled on their motorboats they saw how the twister ripped through each house it passed before dissipating,” Arquiza said.

The village official said the city social welfare office have extended  relief assistance and assessing the needs of the affected residents.