KOTA KINABALU: An eighteen month old baby girl was carried away by strong winds which blew off the roof of a house in Kampung Dungang, Tuaran near here, around 11.50pm on Friday night.
Tuaran district officer Abdul Mohd Ibnu Abdul Kadir Baba said prior to the incident, Nurhasyikin Jainudin was fast asleep in a makeshift cradle suspended by a rope which was tied to a beam on the roof.
“The beam also came off with the roof when the strong winds came, carrying the baby with it,” he told Bernama when contacted here yesterday.
Abdul Mohd Ibnu said the toddler was found 25 minutes later at 12.15 am in a paddy field near a neighbour’s house, and rushed to the district hospital.
According to him, the toddler who sustained a broken right thigh bone was subsequently transferred to the Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas for further treatment and her condition is reported to be stable.
The winds carried by the tropical storm Linfa that swept over Luzon in the Philippines, also blew off the roof of a school and those of a few houses in Tamparuli.
Abdul Mohd Ibnu said the extent of damage and losses had yet to be determined.
“The district disaster secretariat is on alert and monitoring the situation.
At the moment, there is no necessity for residents to evacuate,” he added.
Meanwhile, the winds also ravaged eight primary schools in Sabah.
State Education director Datuk Jame Alip told Bernama that three of the schools were Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Lapasan, SK Sembulan and SK Talungan in Kota Kinabalu.
“Two are SK Kebayau, SK Kuala Abai and SK Menunggui in Kota Belud, Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) St Peter in Kudat and SK Ranau in Kota Marudu,” he said.
Jame said floods hit SK Kiau in Kota Belud around 1 am yesterday for the second time after the first on June 16.
“The state and district education offices will make sure that the pupils and teachers are safe,” he said, adding that school would resume as usual on Monday.