Tree topples in Lahug, family evacuated

A FAMILY of three in barangay Lahug was pulled to safety by rescuers from the Cebu City disaster office after heavy rains and strong winds caused a 50-foot tree to fall down and drag high-tension power lines to the ground.

Jose Pacquiao, his wife and four-year-old son were safely evacuated from their house on A. Soriano Street by a rescue team led by Councilor Dave Tumulak.

Pacquiao said he and his family were having breakfast when the Talisay tree across their house crashed. He said they heard the power lines snap and saw sparks as it came into contact with their house’s metal gate.

“ I was afraid we would get electrecuted,” he told Cebu Daily News.

He said it was fortunate that the incident happened on a Saturday when there was no school. The tree was 40 paces away from Lahug Elementary School.
“Many students pass this way in the morning,” Pacquiao said.

Another tree fell down in the Gonzales Compound in barangay Kamputhaw during yesterday morning’s downpour in Cebu City.

A responder who was cutting the tree branches was wounded when he accidentally stepped on a sharp object. He was brought to a a hospital for anti-tetanus shots. /Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag