Holidaying vehicle dealer escapes typhoon

Auckland’s Harwood Cars manager Lorna Harwood is among the survivors of a devastating typhoon which hit her hometown of San Jose in the Philippines while she was visiting for Christmas.

She is OK although there’s no power, phone or internet which made it difficult to contact her, husband Martin Harwood says while he continues to run the Point Chevalier EV dealership through the holidays.

San Jose in Occidental Mindoro has been declared a state of calamity due to damage caused by Typhoon Ursula.

Sixteen people were reported killed with San Jose among the worst hit towns.

Mayor Romulo Festin says this typhoon has been more destructive compared to others.

It was a “very bad typhoon, really very strong”, Lorna Harwood messages from San Jose.

“You can find all the electric wires in the street everywhere here,” she says, adding the house she’s in escaped major damage but some neighbours lost their roofs and some had big trees fall on their homes.

Harwood says it will take months – if not years – to repair all the damage.

“It’s a very sad New Year for Occidental Mindoro residents.”

EVtalk featured Harwood Cars in October 2019.