A powerful whirlwind ripped off part of the roof of a warehouse and nearby buildings in Brgy. Blumentritt, Murcia, Negros Occidental, at about 2 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Mayor Gerry Rojas said.
It also triggered power outages in Murcia and Barangay Alijis, Bacolod City, a Negros Electric and Power Corp. official said.
“It was strong, it lasted about three minutes,” said Rojas, who assured that no one was hurt.
It ripped off part of the roof of a new warehouse and caused power lines to spark, he said.
“It was a whirlwind, not a tornado,” Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said.
The Murcia Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) personnel and firefighters immediately went to the area, Rojas said.
Murcia MDRRMO head Nonoy Leonida said part of the roof of the Benby Enterprises warehouse and their barracks in front were ripped off.
The Nature’s Spring Water property on the other side of the road was also partly damaged, he said.
The whirlwind disrupted power in Murcia town and Barangay Alijis, Bacolod, Engr. Mervin Dalian, Assistant Vice President of the Network Development and Operations Group of Negros Power, said.
The whirlwind hit their Bacolod-Alijis 69 kV sub-transmission line, causing the Alijis and Murcia substations to trip off, he said.
The power at Alijis was restored at 3:08 p.m. Thursday, Dalian said.
The were no reports of major structural damage to Negros Power’s facilities, but they had to bring in man lifts to clear the whirlwind-blown debris that landed on Murcia power lines before restoring power at 4:50 p.m., he said.
Negros Power urged the public to remain cautious and report any downed power lines or electrical hazards in their areas.*