MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) A tornado slammed through Los Baños, Laguna, Thursday afternoon, ripping off roofs, uprooting trees and stirring panic among residents.

Eyewitnesses told INQUIRER.net the tornado hit the town between 3 p.m. to 5 pm.

A Catholic nun said in a text message that terrified children in Franciscan Missionary-run school in Los Baños shouted "Tornado!" on seeing the forceful mass of swirling wind.

"We saw flying debris ... roofs, uprooted trees," the nun, identified only as Sister Emma, said in a text message relayed by a priest to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“I just can’t imagine it was happening,” the nun said. “I just sat down when the rest of the children began crying and praying ... and I said to myself... ‘God is this how my life would end?’ I was so afraid.”

When the tornado reached the school garden, rain poured down and the tornado shifted direction, she said.

“Several trees were uprooted from our garden. Some things were shattered by the force of the wind. It was really scary. It was a very big tornado. Please pray for our safety,” Sister Emma pleaded.

Harold Grande, an instructor at the College of Development Communication in University of the Philippines Los Baños, said he was inside the classroom when he heard a commotion outside.

"I was at DevCom and the students were shouting outside then I saw it [tornado] forming then it dissipated," said Grande in a phone interview, adding that it seemingly lasted for five minutes.

"It was like those in the movies," he said of the rare phenomenon in the science town of Laguna.

Meanwhile, Pamela Lomaad, a senior BS Economics student at UPLB said the tornado formed twice. She took a video of the phenomenon.

"We saw nets and leaves flying. You can see the tornado really forming," she said.

"Students were amazed at first but they were in panic later," she added.

A Philippine Daily Inquirer editor, quoting jeepney driver Romeo Vasquez, told INQUIRER.net the whirlwind damaged some houses near the main intersection of the town.