Tornado hits 7 villages in Southern Leyte, Gordon says

Some 77 families were evacuated from a town in Southern Leyte in the central Philippines after a tornado hit the area, Sen. Richard Gordon said Sunday. Gordon, who heads the Philippine National Red Cross, said the families were reportedly brought to two evacuation centers in St. Bernard town, where a landslide killed more than 1,000 residents last February. "Seven barangays (villages) were hit by the tornado. At least 20 houses were destroyed while 12 sustained partial damage," Gordon said in an interview over radio DZXL. Gordon did not say if the tornado stemmed from strong winds and rains caused by tropical storm Caloy. “Caloy" lashed western, eastern and central Visayas, Southern Tagalog, Bicol and Metro Manila on Saturday. - GMANews.TV