Tornado destroys village; 50 die in Southern Leyte

By Philippine News Service
December 21, 2003

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte     –     After heavy rains loosened the soil and triggered landslides that killed 200 in Southern Leyte, a tornado destroyed a remote barangay on a nearby island, leaving at least 50 people dead and 394 families homeless.

The tornado’s powerful, twisting windstorm in contact with the ground and a cloud base swept away at least 60 homes in Barangay Pinut-an, San Ricardo, Panaon island about the same time a massive landslide struck the neighboring towns of Liloan, San Francisco and San Vicente Friday night. 

A report from Mercedes Aberilla of the provincial social welfare and development office (PSWDO) in Maasin City said the dead in Barangay Pinut-an included former San Ricardo mayor Vicente Mejia, husband of the incumbent mayor.

The toll in Barangay Pinut-an could rise because a number of people remain missing.

In San Francisco, rescue teams recovered and identified at least 33 people; others remain unidentified. Their bodies were laid on the town plaza, awaiting embalming.

Health authorities supervising rescue operations here are complaining of a lack of formalin to mask the stench of decomposing bodies.

To prevent the spread of diseases, relief officials said they would bury unclaimed bodies after three days.