Tornadoes ruin houses, crops in parts of North Cotabato

A FARMWORKER checks the banana plants devastated by a twister in Barangay Manongol, Kidapawan City. WILLIAMOR A. MAGBANUA/INQUIRER MINDANAO

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Tornadoes have ravaged houses and croplands for weeks in some parts of North Cotabato, a province already experiencing a dry spell for months.

The latest of seven twisters to hit the province this month alone was reported Monday night in Barangay Manongol in this city. At least 5,000 banana plants were damaged but no human casualty was reported.

It was the third to occur in the city this month, officials said. On Monday last week, a tornado damaged some P2 million worth of fruiting banana plants in Barangay Paco.

Another damaged 27 houses in Barangay Magatos in Kabacan town, according to Mayor Herlo Guzman.

The dry spell being experienced in North Cotabato and land topography contribute to the twister occurrences, said a meteorologist assigned to the Cotabato City station of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

“When there is extreme heat, cumulonimbus clouds easily form. This is how a twister originates,” said the scientist, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak to media.

Most of the twister-hit areas have vast plains. Other areas experiencing dry spell have not reported similar occurrences.

Daniel Curambao, a banana plantation owner, said only five percent of his

7-hectare farm in Paco was spared.

In M’lang town, a tornado tore apart 15 houses and 11 school buildings in two villages on April 12. Hundreds of banana plants were felled when a second twister came, according to Mayor Joselito Piñol.

In Alamada town, another twister damaged 30 houses during the second week of April, according to the municipality’s disaster response office.

Extreme heat increases the air’s moisture content, or humidity, the meteorologist said. When warm air collides with cooler air, a twister could form, the source added.

“Sometimes, there will be hailstorm such as the ones reported last year,” the source said.

In Davao del Sur province, Gov. Claude Bautista announced the declaration of a state of calamity as he urged his allies to forget politics for the moment and concentrate on efforts to help farmers suffering from the effects of the dry spell.

Marivic Hubac, Bautista’s executive assistant, said about 7,000 hectares of cropland had already been damaged in the province and in the newly created province of Davao Occidental, citing initial field reports from the agriculture office.

The ruined fields included about 500 ha of rice, 2,000 ha of corn, 500 ha of banana, and 3,000 ha of coconuts, Hubac said in a text message.

In Maguindanao, the provincial board also proclaimed a state of calamity, The dry spell has so far affected more than 2,000 farmers in 36 towns, Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu said the declaration would pave the way for the use of the calamity fund to help residents. Damage to crops has already reached over P100 million and the situation worsens day by day he said. Allan Nawal, Williamor Magbanua, Edwin Fernandez and Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao