Twister hits Zambo village

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A family of five survived a tornado that blew away their house in a village here past midnight Thursday.

 The twister, which the local weather bureau described to be moderate, also uprooted several trees and ripped off the roof of another house in Sitio Mulu-muluan, Barangay Mercedes. 

Gilbert Damgo said he and his wife and three children were asleep when they were awakened by the sound of the wind.

 “The twister lifted the house, leaving only the floor on which we were lying prone to protect ourselves,” Damgo said in Chavacano.

The wind carried Damgo’s house some 20 meters away. 

Several fruit-bearing trees along the twister’s path were also uprooted and another house owned by a certain Josephine Lanipa was destroyed.

Police said no one was reported injured from the calamity.

Maribel Enriquez, local meteorological chief officer of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, said twisters normally occur during or after a thunderstorm.

The weather bureau said it was the third time that a tornado occurred on the east coast of the city since last year.