Tornado demolishes 20 homes in North Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A tornado uprooted more than 20 houses in a Muslim village in Kabuntalan, North Cotabato yesterday, displacing more than a hundred villagers, now confined in nearby school campuses.

The mayor of Northern Kabuntalan, Ramil Dilangalen, said it was fortunate that the tornado whirled away to a marsh after it struck a village in an isolated district in their municipality.

The Social Welfare Department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has dispatched relief workers to Northern Kabuntalan to attend to the needs of the displaced families.

Dilangalen said the tornado struck just days after big rivers criss-crossing Northern Kabuntalan overflowed due to heavy rains in surrounding areas. – John Unson