Raids and Retaliation at 9:20 meant you could push the town into E8, and the event would destroy the town. One of your fear cards gives coastal defense, so you could have pulled a town into E3 and the Dahan would have destroyed the town too for no cost.
With Whirlwind, one tip I can give you is to think in terms of what are the limitations of this spirit rather than the strengths. That has made it easier to maneuver for me. For instance I always know that my max innate can destroy [1 city or 2 towns] and [3 towns or 1 city+1 town] max (without badlands and any other triggers in play). I will start looking for these patterns mid-game and prepare for future ravages accordingly. Hope this was helpful!
