Tornadoes hit Cotabato villages

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – Tornadoes simultaneously struck parts of South Cotabato late Wednesday, uprooting almost a hundred houses and causing power outages in the province, authorities said.

Provincial officials said the displaced residents in Tupi, Surallah, Banga, Sto. Niño and Tantangan towns and in several barangays in Koronadal City are now housed in evacuation sites.

Agricultural officials pegged at no less than P10 million the value of palay, corn and other crops destroyed by the tornadoes.

The same towns have been hit by more than a dozen tornadoes since early this year, according to local officials.

The inter-agency provincial disaster coordinating council confirmed that a 15-year-old boy in Koronadal City was hospitalized after a tree felled by a tornado fell on him.   – John Unson, Ramil Bajo