TAMPIN, Feb 21 — “I saw roofs and timber frames being blown off and swirling in the air in a split second. I was just thinking to save my wife and my disabled son at that time,” said Othman Md Noor, 74, one of the victims of the storm which struck Felda Jelai 1, Gemas here yesterday.
Describing the incident as the worst faced by him since living in the settlement for 41 years, Othman witnessed almost the entire roof structure of his house being blown away and furniture damaged in the incident, which lasted almost half an hour at 5.30 pm.
“It was unexpected and very shocking. Usually, it was just a short rain or storm. But yesterday, the wind was too strong followed by heavy rain. I could not save anything, only managed to save my 74-year-old wife, Juriah Abdillah, who could not walk and disabled son to the backyard store.
“I did not have time to ask for help from neighbours. When the rain subsided, then only I knew they were experiencing the same but not as bad as me. At 9 pm yesterday, we were placed to Felda Jelai 1 quarters near here,” he told Bernama here today.
The father of eight said his house would take at least a month or two to be fully repaired after incurring losses totalling over RM20,000.
About 30 houses involving more than 130 residents in Gemas near here were damaged and some vehicles were hit by trees. due to heavy rain and storm in the district on Sunday afternoon.
Gemas Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Farid Abu Bakar said no injuries and casualties were reported.
In the same incident, a Proton Wira belonging to Mohd Aminuddin Zaki, 42, was 60 per cent damaged after being hit by a fallen quinine tree near his house.
Ï just parked my car, five minutes earlier before the uprooted tree fell on my car. Thank God, I managed to enter the house by then. The front roof of the house also was blown off by the wind,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tampin MP Datuk Dr Hasan Bahrom said immediate assistance would be channelled tomorrow after obtaining the actual number of affected victims in the incident from the relevant parties.
Sources: BERNAMA