BAUKO, Mountain Province — A severe hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds battered agricultural lands in Mountain Province last Tuesday afternoon, leaving local farmers to count the costs of damaged crops and lost equipment.
The storm struck Sitio Balicanao in Barangay Sadsadan between 2 p.m. and 2:40 p.m. on 28 April, impacting farms situated along the river.
Local farmer Eden Paiking reported that the sudden surge of floodwaters swept away two water pumps, while falling ice and intense winds shredded newly planted carrot crops.
Paiking said there is significant uncertainty regarding whether the damaged plantations can be salvaged.
Farmers have reported the incident to the Bauko Office of the Municipal Agriculturist as they seek government assistance to recover from the losses.
Officials are currently assessing the full extent of the damage to the area’s high-value crops.
In mountainous regions like the Cordilleras, hailstorms are a destructive weather phenomenon where irregular lumps of ice fall at high speeds.
These storms can snap stems, bury young plants and cause localized flooding that leads to soil erosion and the destruction of infrastructure.
The event underscores the increasing vulnerability of the agricultural sector to unpredictable and extreme weather patterns as harvest seasons approach.