Buhawi in the city: power outage, 52 damaged houses, evacuations

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – A “tornado”, known locally as a buhawi, struck parts of Iloilo City late Saturday, Aug. 8, uprooting trees, toppling utility posts, damaging houses, and disrupting power in parts of Jaro and Mandurriao.

The Iloilo City Emergency Operations Center said the weather event occurred at about 10:30 p.m. and affected Barangay Q. Abeto in Mandurriao, Barangay Mirasol, and neighboring areas extending toward the Jaro District.

The OpCen said the cause had not been established, noting that the enhanced southwest monsoon was affecting Western Visayas at the time.

“While initial accounts attribute the impact to a tornado, the observed destruction may also meteorologically stem from these enhanced monsoon winds and localized convective downbursts,” it said.

A convective downburst is a strong, localized downdraft from a thunderstorm that hits the ground and spreads outward, producing damaging straight-line winds.

Downbursts can topple trees, damage structures, and disrupt power lines. The resulting damage typically shows trees bent or broken in radial or straight-line patterns rather than the rotational pattern associated with tornadoes.

Only the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration can formally classify the event as a tornado. The OpCen assessment remains preliminary pending a review of the damage patterns.

As of Sunday morning, the OpCen had recorded 12 incidents involving snapped tree trunks, uprooted trees, and fallen posts attributed to strong winds.

Nine of the incidents were recorded in Jaro and three in Mandurriao.

Affected areas in Jaro included Seminario, Calubihan, Jaro Plaza, Tabuc Suba, Cubay, Braganza, EL 98, Benedicto, and Desamparados.

In Mandurriao, incidents were recorded in the Q. Abeto area near F. Guerrea and along Airport Road in Sta. Rosa.

The OpCen said some areas had already been cleared, while other incidents remained under assessment or response by the city emergency and utility teams.

On Sunday, portions of Jaro Plaza were temporarily closed for debris removal and cleanup in isolated areas.

The nearby Jaro Public Market also sustained damage, including to its roll-up door leading to the second floor and another near the parking area.

Power interruptions, damaged houses

The winds also caused widespread power disruptions, uprooting trees, damaging a concrete pole, and detaching primary wires.

MORE Electric and Power Corp. reported that several substations and feeders temporarily went offline, including the Jaro, Mandurriao, Megaworld, and mobile substations.

Damage to a primary concrete pole and power lines affected electricity supply in parts of the Jaro, Mandurriao, La Paz, and Arevalo districts.

Power restoration proceeded through the night and into Sunday morning as linemen cleared debris, repaired lines, and replaced the damaged primary concrete pole in Q. Abeto.

The initial assessment listed 52 damaged houses across three barangays.

Barangay Cubay in Jaro recorded the largest number, with 48 damaged houses.

Three houses were damaged in Benedicto, Jaro, while one was reported damaged in Gustillo, La Paz.

Evacuations were also recorded in four affected barangays.

In Jaro, six families, or 18 individuals, from Balabago were evacuated to the Balabago Child Development Center.

Another 54 families, or 132 individuals, were recorded at the Cubay Gym, while 20 individuals from Benedicto were also evacuated.

In La Paz, one family consisting of four individuals from Gustillo was evacuated.

Beyond the city, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that 461 families, or 2,038 individuals, were affected by the enhanced southwest monsoon and Tropical Cyclone Luis.

Of the total, 11 families were from Anilao, while 450 families were from Barotac Nuevo.