Tornado leaves 2 North Cotabato towns without power

LIBUNGAN, North Cotabato, Philippines—A baby tornado wreaked havoc on two North Cotabato towns Friday afternoon, toppling trees and power lines that left the towns without electricity even by Saturday morning, officials said.

The twister, characterized by strong spiralling wind  and thunderstorms, swept through three villages here around 4 p.m., sending residents into panic, the Libungan chief of police Chief Inspector Bernard Tayong said.

He said the wind uprooted trees and toppled electric posts in the villages of Ulamian, Sinawingan and Batiocan. The fallen trees and electric posts caused a massive traffic jam on the Libungan portion of the Cotabato-Davao highway, he added.

No serious damage was reported to houses as the twister passed through the highway.

The tornado then swirled through Barangay Baguer in the neighboring municipality of Pigcawayan before it dissipated, Tayong said, adding that no one was reported injured.

Felix Canja, manager of the Cotabato Electric Cooperative, said the tornado damaged eight steel and wooden posts. The damage was so extensive that  power had not been restored by Saturday morning, Canja said.