Three persons were crushed to death by a palm tree, locally known as buli, which fell on two houses in sitio Kalubihan, barangay Labogon, Mandaue City, shortly after midnight.
The fatalities were identified as Romeo Dimpas, 44, and his wife Teresa, 45, and a neighbor Richard Herodiaz, 27.
The 5-ton tree was 23 meters tall.
When it fell, it temporarily cut off electricity and blocked passageways in the neighborhood.
Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac of the Mandaue City police said heavy rains in the past few days may have loosened the soil, causing the tree to fall.
Survivors will be given food and temporary shelter, said said Damaso Tumulak, Labogon barangay captain.
City Social Welfare Services head Viola Cavada visited the area and promised P15,000 for the families of the victims subject to the approval of Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Romeo and Teresa’s son Rod Walter, 18, was finishing a school assignment in the living room when he heard a loud bang on the roof and his mother Teresa cry out to Romeo.
Moments later, he said, he found himself trapped beneath the tree and fallen roof.
Rod Walter said he crawled to his parents and found his father lying face down and pinned down by the tree.
His mother was several feet away and had been hit by the tree and other hard objects.
Rod Walter said he crawled out and called out to neighbors for help.
In the other house, Herodiaz was also asleep with his 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, and her mother, Haide.
When the tree fell, the entire house shook.
The little girl’s position was shifted in her sleep.
“That’s why only her hair got pinned by the tree,” said a neighbor Merly Soon, 39.
But Herodiaz got hit in the head.
All three house occupants were declared dead when they were brought to the Cortes General Hospital and Mandaue District hospital.
It took more than an hour for paramedics to arrive.
They didn’t cut away the tree since it may further crush the bodies, said the barangay captain.
Rescuers used a jack to lift the tree.
Soon, whose house was between the victims’, said she heard a loud crash before the incident.
Upon hearing the sound, she said she grabbed her 5-year-old daughter and left.
She said they have been living in the area for more than 20 years and never expected the tree to fall.
Tumulak said the palm tree was about 40 years old.
Tumulak said they have cut 16 of about 40 buli trees in the barangay as part of disaster risk reduction to prepare for the onset of the rains.
He said the tree that fell yesterday was not included in their inventory and they wouldn’t have cut it since the area was privately owned./Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos, With Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan