⌛ Waterspout hits Amlan

Several families living along the coast of Amlan, Negros Oriental, rushed to higher ground and spent Thursday night at evacuation centers, after a moderate water spout, commonly known in the dialect as “buhawi”, hit land before nightfall.

An initial report from the Philippine National Police in Amlan said at least four houses were slightly damaged by strong winds and heavy rains, when the water spout released an undetermined volume of water in Barangay Mag-aso of that town.

Amlan police chief, Senior Insp. Nestor Rubia, identified the owners of the damaged houses as Ricardo Emague Tan and his brother, Junie Tan, Jaime Cataylo, and Ramon Cabañog.

No casualties were reported even as at least 15 families, totaling about 80 people, were evacuated to the Amlan gymnasium where they spent the night, Rubia added.

An undetermined number of families also fled their homes and sought higher ground, temporarily spending the night at the Amlan Elementary High School, situated on a hilltop, as Mayor Bentham dela Cruz ordered their immediate evacuation, Rubia added.

The evacuees had returned to their respective homes yesterday morning.

Road users also said they saw the twister forming off the shores of Amlan, as they watched it gain strength as it made its way to the town’s coastal areas.

Many parts of the province, including Dumaguete City, were inundated with heavy rains late Thursday, with Amlan believed getting most of the water due to the water spout.

Other barangays in the town, Rubia said, also experience heavy rainfall but no damages had been reported.

Also, two fishermen identified as Restituo Colimbo and Luis Escada were earlier reported missing at the onset of the water spout, but reports reaching the Amlan police station yesterday morning said, they were safe and sound.

Rubia said the two were somewhere along the Tañon Strait between Negros Oriental and Cebu, when they noticed the funnel-like twister forming and gaining strength.

Both fishermen were said to have sought temporary cover at Samboan, Cebu province, instead of returning to Amlan, to avoid getting caught in the water spout, Rubia said.

Edsin Culi, chief meteorologist of the Philippines’ weather bureau, PAG-ASA, in Negros Oriental, said the volume of water accumulated by the water spout could not be determined.

He said water spouts are funnel-shaped formations that occur over a body of water, caused by clouds that develop them, although generally weaker than their counterpart land-based tornadoes.

Culi said he was set to visit Amlan yesterday to collect information on Thursday’s waterspout, which, he said, is a rare occurrence in Negros Oriental.

Meanwhile, a report from the local Red Cross had placed the total number of houses partially and totally damaged by the waterspout at 20, Rubia said.

He added that Red Cross representatives who dropped by the Amlan police station said they had based their report from claims of evacuees, whose houses incurred minor damages, such as leaks, as well as makeshift housing for motor bancas that were also partially destroyed by the waterspout.*JFP

DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

Larry