Lanao town gets pelted with hailstones

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Residents of the coastal town of Balabagan in Lanao del Sur were puzzled when a hailstorm hit their town on Tuesday.

One farmer, Alikhan Omaima, said he immediately performed a sunnah, a Muslim prayer, when pellets of ice as large as marbles, started raining on the town.

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It was the first time such a phenomenon took place in the area, Omaima told Radio dxMS here.

Digoh Umpak, another farmer, said Maranaw elders feared the hailstorm could be a precursor to disaster.

“The elders were all scared. It has not happened here before,” he said over the same radio station.

Mokendi Saripada, 35, a mother of three, said that in contrast to what the town elders felt, children enjoyed picking up the ice pellets.

“It was really ice,” she said.

Meteorologists said hailstorms usually occur during thunderstorms amid a hot summer day.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said there was nothing extraordinary about the hailstorm.

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