Wayward ‘kwitis’ raze 74 houses in 2 cities

MANILA, Philippines – Defective skyrockets (kwitis) that hit houses instead of soaring to the sky marred the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Tacloban and Koronadal cities.

In Tacloban City, around 67 houses were gutted in Barangay 56 at the Pericohon district a few minutes after midnight. About 93 families were left homeless after firefighters battled the fire for three hours.

The district was among the hardest-hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and has not yet recovered.

Tacloban City fire marshall Charlie Gerzon said most of the houses were made of light materials and donated by international non-government organizations. Although nobody was injured, Gerzon placed the damage at P2 million.

In Koronadal, wayward kwitis razed seven houses, destroying about P500,000 worth of property.

Investigators said a defective skyrocket landed on a roof made of thatched materials and the flames quickly spread to other houses. No one was reported injured in the incident.