Twisted Manila

I got a text message this morning.

"Uy Galen, kng may time k patawag naman meralco 16211 with service ID no 9XX-XXX wla kce ilaw mga 1hr na wawa zeki. Wla kce kmi phone. tnx."

It was from a colleague, a single mom, who lately became a confidant at work. She sought my assistance by asking me to call Meralco and find out the reason behind the blackout in their subdivision. They live in Tandang Sora. Though I strongly suspect that the culprit of the power interruption was the heavy downpour which inundated the city, I still dialed the electric company's number to find out.

"We will look into it sir. Please tell Ms [insert the name of colleague here] to expect power to be restored within an hour."

I was right. The call center agent from Meralco said that it was a downed electric post that caused the blackout.

The ruffle created by the hour-long power interruption was already a mere afterthought when I arrived at the office. The single mom was outside the building, smoking, and telling me that power was restored shortly after getting my text message. Meanwhile, as I read the online version of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in between monitoring the accounts this afternoon, I learned that the downed electric post referred to by the customer agent was the result of a strange unnatural disturbance the city has never experienced before.

"MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) More than 10 shanties were damaged when a brief twister hit an area of the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus in Quezon City on Thursday morning, police said.

Aside from the shanties which were damaged by the strong winds, tree branches and an electrical post also fell across the C.P. Garcia Ave in Barangay UP Campus, blocking the road to traffic, said Superintendent Oscar Palison, Anonas police station commander.

As of Thursday afternoon, the huge cement electrical post was not yet hauled off the road, which was near the corner of Magiting Street and C.P. Garcia Avenue, causing heavy traffic along C.P. Garcia Avenue, which connects Katipunan Avenue to the University Avenue and the Philcoa area, Palison said."

I've seen it being reported in the evening news twice. Splashed on the screen is an image of a narrow tube from the sky, dancing in mid-air and touching the ground as it spins toward the fringes of Manila Bay. A person who happens to be at the Baywalk during the wind's surprise Lambada would gape at its untamed beauty. The sight itself at a distance would be so breathtaking, many would aim their phone cameras to capture its dizzying rotation as it moves away from land.

As I go on reading the news, doubts begin to surface whether climate change has to do with the sudden presence of these small funnels. Should we get worried that as the weather pattern changes, the closer these ominous vortexes gobble up out homes? This morning, a weather disturbance smashed 10 hovels, uprooted ancient trees, knocked down an electric post and left an entire district powerless.

And it happened at the schoolyard of the largest university campus in Manila.

Just imagine the trail of destruction it would leave should the finger of god srikes a densely populated neighborhood instead? Imagine the death, tragedy and trauma it would wreck upon thousands of unsuspecting families who have never seen such tempest.

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Twisters whirling in the outskirts of Manila are sights never before seen. The weather bureau never issues a tornado warning in the past.

We should be alarmed.

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Geophysical, Atmospheric and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Thursday warned the public of tornadoes during thunderstorms after two twisters were reported in different parts of the country.
Nathaniel Cruz, PAGASA deputy administrator, said the formation of tornadoes could not be predicted.
“They can appear very quickly and there is no way to predict where they would strike,”

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Sources:

Twister Damages Houses, Downs Electric Post
Weather Bureau Issues Tornado Warning
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