‘Tornado’ blows off roofs of 23 houses

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Some of the damaged houses following the strong winds.

LAHAD DATU: The roofs of 23 houses in Kampung Desa Bajau and Kampung Dasar Baru were blown off by tornado-like storm on Friday.

It was the first time that such an extreme weather event occurred in the two villages, which happened around 3.30 pm.

Siti Salkan

One of the victims, Siti Salkan Nur, 65, said she was making traditional cakes when a strong gust of wind blew off her roof.

Siti said she was shocked and immediately took her daughter and her grandchildren to seek temporary shelter at their neighbour’s house.

“The wind was like a tornado, it blew off some of my roof as well as the wall. I was shocked, this is the first time such incident occurred here,” said Siti.

Nora Jalmaani

According to another villager, Nora Jalmaani, 42, the strong wind was seen forming a tornado.

She said while preparing for prayer, she saw the strong wind pulling garbage, zinc and wood before spinning, just like a tornado.

“Fortunately, no one was around, if not the person would have been hit by the objects or sucked towards the tornado.

“I keep praying for everyone’s safety and thank God, my house was not damaged in the incident,” she added.

On Friday, Lahad Datu Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Head of Division, Abdul Hakim Ghulam Hassan spend some time visiting the victims and presented contribution.

Abdul Hakim who was accompanied by Segama Community Development Leader, Mizma Appehdullah said they will contribute 600 pieces of zinc for the victims.