7 houses destroyed, 12 damaged as whirlwinds sweep Sarrat, Laoag

LAOAG CITY, Philippines—As Typhoon Mina pounded northern Luzon on Saturday, whirlwinds swept through parts of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, and this capital city, uprooting trees and destroying houses.

The provincial disaster risk reduction and management council said an early morning whirlwind destroyed seven houses and damaged 12 others in Barangay 18 in Sarrat town. No resident, however, was reported  hurt.

Personnel from the Laoag City engineering office conducted clearing operations at 10 a.m. in Barangay Cataban after another whirlwind uprooted trees and blocked a road in the village.

Governor Imee Marcos and provincial government personnel brought relief goods to displaced families in Sarrat on Saturday.

Marcos also checked the situation in Piddig where floods inundated some parts of the town.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration  had placed Ilocos Norte under storm signal No. 2 in its 11 a.m. weather bulletin.

Saturday flights of Cebu Pacific from Manila to Laoag and vice versa were canceled due to bad weather.

Personnel of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) were also sent to various neighborhoods in this city after strong winds snapped several power lines.

William Marders, the utility’s information officer, warned residents to stay away from broken power lines and wait for INEC personnel to fix them.