Hail, lightning strike Midwest Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Hail fell on three barangays in Pinamungajan town while two men were struck by lightning in Toledo City yesterday afternoon.

Toledo City and Pinamungajan town are both in the midwestern part of Cebu.

Pinamungajan police chief Roseller Paller said big lumps of ice fell on barangays Binabag, Poblacion and Pandacan for about three minutes.

Before the hailstones, the barangays experienced strong winds, followed by the formation of a waterspout.

The roofs of the houses of sisters Emily and Analy Obatay in Sitio Pundol, Barangay Binabag, were blown away by strong winds while a mango tree fell on the house of Sergio Balungkas in Lower Campo, Barangay Poblacion. In Barangay Pandacan, plants and trees were uprooted.

No one was, however, reported injured by the strange weather occurrence. Paller estimated the damage at P4,000.

Meanwhile, a security guard of the Carmen Copper Corporation in Barangay Biga, Toledo City was declared dead at the Carmen Copper Hospital after he was struck by lightning around 1:25p.m. yesterday.

Victoriano Macaday Jr., 24, was walking on a hilly portion on his way home when he was struck by lightning.

“Mura kuno na siya ug gigukod unya naapsan siya sa may ubos na didto nahagba ug kalit,” PO3 Alfredo Barquin said.

Macaday was reportedly holding a metal hammer at that time, which police believed could have attracted lightning since metal is a conductor of electricity.

A few minutes later, 16-year-old Junior Lacheca found his mother Marites, lying on the ground with burns on her body.

Marites was washing clothes in an open area a few meters away from their house when she was struck by lightning.

There was a blackout in Toledo City and Pinamungajan town after the strange weather occurrence but power was restored after 30 minutes in both areas. — /QSB (FREEMAN)