Elderly man's house badly damaged by tree as hail hits village

KUALA TERENGGANU: A storm accompanied by hail caused an elderly man to suffer thousands of ringgit in losses after part of his home was badly damaged by a fallen tree in Kampung Kebor Air, Manir, around 2.30pm today.

Ismail Embong, 79, said the terrifying incident forced him and his younger sister, Lijah, 72,  who were outside at the time, to run into the house for safety.

“We were outside chatting with neighbours when suddenly the storm came with hail.

“While in the kitchen, we heard a loud crash from the veranda and saw that a mango tree had fallen. Luckily, we weren’t in that area at the time,” he said.

According to him, the house, which he shares with another sibling, Mamat, 75, was built entirely of Chengal wood more than 50 years ago through his own efforts.

Ismail added that, in addition to structural damage, about 30 roof tiles were broken or blown away by strong winds.

“I hope someone will come forward to help rebuild the damaged part of the house,” he said.

Another resident, Sharifah Dayang Zubaidah Syed Mohamad, 35, said the 15-minute storm damaged around 20 homes, blew away dozens of roof tiles, and toppled several trees.

She said the weather was normal before residents were startled by loud winds, hail, thunder, and lightning.

“Just after 2pm, it suddenly turned dark, then heavy wind and hail came… it lasted about 15 minutes. Then trees started falling and roofs were flying off,” she said when met at the scene today.

Another victim, Zabidah Omar, 65, who works as a cleaner at a government department nearby, said she was shocked when her child called to inform her that their roof had been blown away.

She rushed home to find the house flooded and shattered roof tiles scattered all over the ground.

“This is the second time such an incident has occurred in this village. The first was about five years ago,” she said.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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