Mayor John Dalipe has ordered concerned city departments to mobilize resources to assist the families affected by the whirlwind or tornado incident that hit the coastal area of barangay Sinunuc (fronting the gallera or cockpit) around 8:10am Wednesday, August 9.

Mayor Dalipe has tasked the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) under Maria Socorro Rojas to finalize assessment and provide the necessary support and assistance to those affected.

The incident that lasted for a minute wounded one person and partially destroyed 30 houses.

CSWDO Chief Socorro Rojas said 32 families were affected and provided with food assistance Wednesday, as initial aid from the city government.

No evacuation took place but personnel from the City Engineer’s Office were sent to help in making necessary repairs, according to Rojas.

The assessment, she added, will be the basis for the CSWDO in facilitating the grant of cash assistance to the tornado-hit families.

Meanwhile, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office led by Dr. Elmeir Apolinario immediately dispatched response teams to the area, upon learning about the incident.

According to reports, the whirlwind incident coincided with the rains spawned by localized thunderstorms that hit some parts of the city Wednesday morning.

In its forecast, PAG-ASA said Zamboanga City and the rest of Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstoms, Aug. 9. (Sheila Covarrubias)