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Whistling winds that hammered houses and crumpled metals “like paper” until the wee hours of Thursday — this was how Villamor Visaya Jr., an Inquirer correspondent in Isabela, described the onslaught of supertyphoon “Lawin” (international name: Haima) as it made landfall in southern Cagayan and traversed across northern Luzon.
READ: Supertyphoon ‘Lawin’ smashes northern Luzon
“Ang lakas, at hindi kami nakatulog hanggang umaga, parang hinihigop ang bahay. At same din ang nakuha nating obserbasyon sa mga residente kanina habang kami ay umiikot at binabanggit din nila na parang binabayo ng martilyo ang kanilang mga bahay,” Visaya said over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
Alas sais pa lang ng gabi binabayo na ng hangin ‘yung mga bahay dito at umabot siya ng hanggang mga alas-tres ng madaling araw. Talagang pinasok ang buong kabahayan… ‘Yung lakas niya parang humuhini, nagwi-whistle pa siya. At ‘yung parang pag-iikot niya akala mo lindol pero actually hangin lang ‘yung humuhugot sa bahay,” he added.
(It was so strong, we weren’t able to sleep, it felt like the house was being sucked into the storm. We got the same observation from the residents while we were making rounds, that it felt like hammers were pounding on their homes.
(As early as 6 p.m., the houses were already being battered by the winds, and that went on until around 3 a.m. The winds really got inside the houses…They were so strong they were even whistling. And how the wind whirled, it felt like an earthquake, when it was just wind that was blowing on the homes.)
Signal No. 5 was hoisted over Isabela and nearby provinces on Wednesday. It was downgraded to Signal No. 1 on Thursday morning.
READ: Typhoon ‘Lawin’ weakens further, could leave PAR tonight
Visaya said they thought the typhoon was at its peak on Wednesday evening, but the winds felt much stronger at 2 a.m.
The correspondent said houses made of light materials were destroyed and trees were uprooted. Residents were picking up roofing panels torn by the winds on the road, and power and communication lines in some areas were affected.
“Maraming mga puno na nagkatumbahan. Sa ating pag-iikot natin kanina ay makikita nating naghambalang pa rin ang ilang mga puno sa mga gilid ng daan at patuloy pa ring nag-clearing operations itong mga kasapi ng DPWH at iba pang mga volunteers,” Visaya said.
“Tinatanggal na yung malalaking tatlong acasia na natumba sa may Ilagan, at ang ibang mga residenteng ating nakita kanina ay nag-aayos na ng mga natumbang poste ng kanilang mga bahay, ang mga nilipad na bubong ay kanilang pinulot sa mga daan. Parang nilamukos na papel ang mga metal, mga signages, mga billboard,” he added.
(A lot of trees were felled. While we were going around earlier, we saw some felled trees on the roadside, as clearing operations by the DPWH and other volunteers were still ongoing.
(Three felled acacia trees in Ilagan were already cleared, while some residents were already repairing electrical posts near their homes and picking up roof panels that flew off their homes. Metal signages and billboards ended up like crumpled paper in the aftermath.)
As of 11 a.m., the weather bureau said Lawin continued to weaken as it traversed Apayao province, and may leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday night. CDG/rga