The collapse of a large, old acacia tree after a night of heavy rain caused a five-hour traffic jam along the national highway in barangay Langtad, Naga City, southern Cebu yesterday.
The tree fell sometime after midnight, pulled out from its roots.
Residents said a brownout struck at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday after the tree downed two electrical posts.
No one was hurt in the incident but buses and private vehicles headed north and south were stuck on both lanes of the highway until firemen used a chain saw and bolos to cut off thick branches, clearing the road by 5 a.m.
Amalia Canseran, an elderly resident in barangay Langtad, said the tree was already there when she and her family stayed in the area in 1960.
She said the tree could be more than 100 years old.
Some impatient passengers got off buses and crossed under the branches of the fallen tree to find another ride.
Jasper Pateño was on his way to Dumanjug town to board a 4 a.m. barge for Negros Oriental where some relatives are victims of a landslide.
“This is so stressful. I’m in a hurry. I’m worrying about my relatives in Guihulngan. I’m not expecting this, but there is nothing much we can do,” Pateño said.
High school students headed for classes at 6:30 a.m. in Dalaguete town also got out of the buses and walked to the other side of the highway to catch a ride for school.
A rescue team from the Bureau of Fire Protection of San Fernando and Naga toppled the tree. They used their bolos to cut small branches until a chain saw arrived.
Hermogena Algones, a vendor from Carcar City paid some men to carry her 12 sacks of puso or hanging rice out the bus to avoid getting wet in the rain.
Vegetable vendors carried their produce across the fallen acacia tree to catch a ride to Cebu City while some vehicles turned away from the area.
An ambulance with a patient with hack wounds in the head was also stuck in the area.
The patient from Argao City was still conscious and waited for transport to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
By 4:30 a.m., almost half of the highway was cleared.
The ambulance was allowed to pass first before firemen continued clearing the area.
By 5 a.m. all stranded vehicles managed to pass through.