Strong winds, downpour cause chaos at Johor Jaya

JOHOR BARU: More than 60 families in Johor Jaya were left stranded after the roofs of their houses were blown away by strong winds during a downpour.

Among them is a 66-year-old who suffered shock when her house roof came crashing down in Kampung Melayu Pandan at 1.30pm yesterday.

To the rescue: Tan sawing a fallen tree near Flat Ros Merah in Taman Johor Jaya.

According to Mohd Fauzi Mohammad, who is Kampung Melayu Pandan Neighbourhood Residential Community (KRT) chairman, wheelchair-bound Asah Ahmad was resting in her room when it happened.

“She was trapped in her room after the roof collapsed. A few villagers managed to rescue her and placed her at one of her children’s homes near Jalan Masjid,” he said, adding that Asah was not hurt in the incident.

A total of 11 houses in the village were affected, with some of the roofs partially blown away while others had collapsed.

Other affected areas include Flat Ros Merah, Jalan Ros Merah 3/1, Jalan Bakawali 39 in Taman Johor Jaya, Bandar Seri Alam and Kota Puteri in Masai, where trees were also uprooted.

Meanwhile, Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) councillor Chan San San said she would be writing to the state government to request for assistance to repair the damaged infrastructure at the various areas.

She said she immediately worked with Pasir Gudang MCA division chief Tan Tuan Peng to arrange for buses to ferry the victims to the temporary relief shelter.

“Besides that, the council also mobilised other personnel to the affected areas to clear the fallen trees and debris, which caused traffic congestion at several main roads,” Chan added.