PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – Personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Second Special Operations Unit (SSOU) Maritime Group rescued two fishermen, who were thrown off their boat when a tornado hit the vicinity of Matangguli Island, Barangay Bangkalan in Balabac, Palawan on Saturday, October 31.
Reports reaching this city said the PNP Maritime Group was able to rescue Ricardo Tabucol, 51, and his companion Ebney Rendaman in the waters off Sitio Biya, Barangay Taratak, Bataraza, Palawan.
The report said Tabuco and Rendaman were trying to fix their boat which conked out under heavy rain as they were travelling to Matangguli Island.
Meanwhile, residents of Barangay Rio Tuba, Bataraza in southern Palawan spotted the tornado on Saturday afternoon.
Weather expert Allain Joy Lusoc of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) explained that the tornado was spawned by cumulonimbus clouds after they observed a “convergence of winds in the southern part of the province”.
“'Yong convergence niya plus bumabangga siya sa land mass, malaking land mass ng southern portion. Kapag bumangga yong hangin lalo na may kalakasan yong hangin natin, kapag umangat iyan is lalamig, yong molecule nyan ay magko-condense at magform ng kaulapan. Kapag nagsama-sama ay pwede mag-generate ng kaulapan na pwede magdulot ng pag-ulan," he said.
"Kung malakas ang orographic lifting niya at may convective force pa siya na kasama, magkakaroon ng cumulonimbus,” he added.
Cumulonimbus clouds are also known as thunderstorm clouds which could spawn lightning, thunder, and tornadoes, or the so-called “ipo-ipo”, according to Lusoc.
“Cumulonimbus talaga iyan ang nagdudulot ng buhawi, water spout natin sa dagat at sa lupa. Isolated cases yan na tulad kapag may bagyo ka talaga, maramihang buhawi ang ma-generate. Isolated ito, dulot lang ‘yan ng pailan-ilan cell ng cumulonimbus na naggi-generate into buhawi,” he said.
According to netizen Jherilyn Fernadez Goh, who posted a picture of the tornado that was spotted around 1:39 p.m., they observed the water spout for around five minutes.