PILAR, Bataan — A century-old acacia tree was uprooted Tuesday morning and fell across the MacArthur Highway in Barangay Santa Rosa here, hurting four persons and destroying a store and some tricycles.
Barangay Sta. Rosa chairman Joey de Leon said that two of the injured were in serious condition while the two others suffered minor injuries. They were rushed to the Bataan General Hospital in Balanga City.
The village head said that several tricycles and a store selling second-hand spare parts of vehicles were destroyed after being hit by the falling tree at past 7 a.m.
“The soil was already saturated with water. That is why it is vulnerable. The soil has too much water, that is why the 100-year-old tree fell,” De Leon said.
He recalled that they pruned the same tree a month ago.
Store owner Kim Buena said she was inside when she heard a loud sound. “I thought it was only a lightning. But when I went out, I already saw the fallen tree. The tree cracked and gradually fell,” she narrated.
Another resident in the area, Ardy Quiambao, said, “I heard a crack sound and the tree fell gradually and the driver of the tricycle was hit”.
Traffic was temporarily stalled until the area was cleared of the fallen century-old tree. (Ernie Esconde/PNA)
