'Mini tornado' strikes Kinabatangan area

One of the buildings brought down by the strong wind

KOTA KINABALU: Strong winds appearing like “small tornadoes” flattened two buildings and blew off the roofs of three other structures at an oil palm plantation in the east coast Kinabatangan district.

Kinabatangan police chief Sahak Rahmat said no casualties were reported following the 2.20pm incident on Tuesday.

He said the winds flattened a building being used as an oil palm tree nursery and concrete block factory at the Tung Hap Plantation.

The winds also damaged a hall and some 80 units of workers quarters in a longhouse type structures.

Sahak said the plantation’s 320 workers were involved in cleaning up the debris.