Saturday October 30, 2010
Mini twister blows through Perlis town
By FLORENCE A. SAMY
[email protected]
PETALING JAYA: These two pictures captured by The Star reader Ng Hock Hoo show a mini twister sweeping through Mata Air, Jejawi, Perlis.
Roofs were blown off while signboards were uprooted and houses damaged during the incident, which took place on Thursday evening. A van was also overturned. Ng, an assistant maintenance manager in his 40s, captured the images while driving from Mata Air to his home in Arau.
“I have seen something similar before but never this close. I have also never seen this kind of damage before. “It happened just before a heavy rain and thunderstorm. The ‘twister’ started moving a few kilometres ahead of me and caused a lot of damage and a traffic jam,” he said yesterday.
A Meteorological Department forecast officer said an intense thunderstorm could create very strong winds. “There will be an up-and-down draft if there is a strong thunderstorm cell. There can be very strong winds when a thunderstorm is forming,” the officer said. However, it was not a twister or tornado since it was small with low magnitude, the officer said.
His counterpart in George Town said that it was an isolated incident, reports FONG KEE SOON. “Our radars in Butterworth and Bayan Lepas did not detect any unusual cloud formations or strong winds associated with cyclones over the last two days,” he said, adding that the department would study the video recording of the phenomenon to determine the causes.
Bernama reported that the gale damaged more than 50 houses, foodstalls and motor workshops in Jejawi, near Kangar. The van, belonging to a security firm, was at a workshop. No one was reported injured in the 6pm incident, according to Perlis Welfare Committee chairman Mansor Jusoh. Rohana Abdul Rahman, 52, said she was alone at home when she felt the house move.
“All of a sudden, the front door gave way and the roof blew off,” said Rohana, who lives with her husband and daughter Raja Raine Shasha Raja Shariman, 30, who works at Universiti Malaysia Perlis. Mansor said the gale caused damage estimated at more than RM100,000 but the actual amount was expected to be known after a welfare department census.
He said a relief centre was opened last night but the victims preferred to stay with relatives. He said Baitulmal Perlis and the Perlis Human Development Unit would help the victims repair their houses. The Yayasan Pok dan Kassim provided RM100 and rice to each of the victims.
