Strong wind wreaks havoc in Kampung Telaga Air

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One of the damaged structures along the esplanade.

One of the damaged structures along the esplanade.

KUCHING: Residents at Kampung Telaga Air were left breathing a huge sigh of relief after freakish wind conditions uprooted trees that barely missed landing on their homes.

The freakish wind accompanied by a 30-minute storm yesterday morning, also damaged sections of the village’s esplanade but did not result in any injuries to residents.

Fisherman Sapawi Wen, 68, described the situation as ‘extraordinary’, saying that it was the first time he had ever encountered such conditions during a storm.

“I have lived here all my life and never experienced this kind of wind before. The storm started about 7am and caused a large tree to fall right next my house,” he said when met following the incident.

According to Sapawi, he woke up to the sound of heavy rain and strong wind and became frightened that a tree might land on his house. Not knowing whether to evacuate or stay, the fisherman chose the latter and gathered family members in the middle of the house and waited for the storm to die down before going outside.

“I saw an uprooted tree missing my house by a few feet and landing on an electrical pole instead,” he said, adding he had heard of others in the village whose homes were also spared from being struck by fallen trees and was thankful no one was hurt. One such villager was Jemat Ali, 40, who, like Sapawi, woke up during the height of the storm.

Jemat, who moved to the village after getting married to a local resident 20 years ago, said he woke up when his zinc roof started to violently rattle as a result of the wind.

He said he quickly woke up his wife and children and told them to huddle in the middle of their house away from the window panes.

“We were all huddled together for several minutes when a large tree fell to the ground right next to our house. We panicked because we were fearful that we might not be so lucky if another tree fell, but thankfully the storm died down not long after that.”

Personnel from the state Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Force, police and council workers were deployed in the aftermath of the storm to assist villagers in removing uprooted trees and other debris, particularly along the scenic and popular Telaga Air esplanade.

Jemat with the uprooted tree that fell next to his house.

Jemat with the uprooted tree that fell next to his house.