Tornado causes power outages in Iloilo

A tornado ravaged several houses in parts of Iloilo City and Iloilo province and eventually caused an unscheduled power interruption early morning of May 6, 202

In an advisory, the Iloilo City Operations Center said that the tornado hit three barangays in Molo district at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.

A total of 30 houses in Molo were affected, based on data from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

The tornado ripped apart 6 houses in West Habog-Habog and partially damaged 18 houses; 2 totally damaged houses and 3 partially damaged houses in San Juan; and 1 partially damaged house in West Timawa.

The tornado also caused havoc in the town of Oton, Iloilo. A local radio station reported that almost 20 houses at Brgy. Botong, Oton were damaged.

Data from the Municial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) of Oton indicated that the tornado ravaged three barangays.

In Brgy. Bita Sur, 3 houses and a rice mill were destroyed while one house was partially damaged.

Meanwhile, 4 houses were destroyed and 12 houses were partially damaged in Brgy. Botong and one house was partially damaged in Sta. Rita.

The tornado also caused an unscheduled power interruption in the service area of Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO I).

In an advisory, ILECO said the outage that occurred around 2:30 am affected areas connected to Feeder 9 of its San Miguel Substation which services portions of Oton.

But before this, a prolonged brown-out already marred some areas under ILECO I.

At around 9:35 p.m., the entire service area of ILECO I except those connected to the Pavia and Leganes Substations experienced an unscheduled power interruption due to the tripping of Sta. Barbara-Miagao 69kV line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The Sta. Barbara-Miagao 69kV line was restored at 10:44 p.m. but the brown-out dragged in some areas due to the tornado.

Consumers have reported that the power interruption lasted for about four to six hours and up to 12 hours in isolated areas. (ERS)