PONTIAN: A teenage girl in Kampung Melayu Raya, Pekan Nanas, here experienced tense moments when she had to cling tightly to her mother, who suffers from chronic heart disease, for nearly 30 minutes to ensure her safety after their home was hit by a storm on Sunday (May 3) afternoon.
Nurul Amani Hafieya Mohd Helmy, 15, said that during the incident around 3.30 pm, she and her mother, Nor Shaida Masud, 39, were resting before being startled by a loud bang coming from the direction of their roof.
She then found that the ceiling in the living room was collapsing and almost hit her mother, so she pulled the woman to safety under the frame of the room door.
"I was terrified as the rain was so heavy and there was lightning. My only thought was my mother's safety.
"We endured for almost half an hour before our neighbour called out to us to take shelter in a safer area. After going outside, I saw that the roof structure of a nearby neighbour's house had blown away," she said when met at the scene here on Monday (May 4).
Nurul Amani expressed her gratitude that both of them were safe in the incident, even though they are now left with nothing. She is thankful too that her mother is currently receiving further treatment in the hospital.
Meanwhile, another victim, Faizul Paijan, 45, recounted that the incident began with a very loud 'whistling' sound as soon as he returned from dropping off his child at the MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) Batu Pahat.
As soon as he saw the strong wind swirling followed by heavy rain, he immediately rushed to seek shelter inside the house.
"However, as soon as we entered the house, the roof was blown off by the storm, and not long after, the ceiling collapsed... At that moment, I rushed to save my youngest child," he said.
The storm incident was reported to have affected around 100 residents in Kampung Melayu Raya, who are now being housed at the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Kampung Melayu Raya since yesterday.
A total of 23 rental houses, five private houses, and one madrasah quarters were reported to have suffered damage to their roofs and ceiling structures, but no casualties were reported.
Earlier, the Johor State Secretary and State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman Datuk Mohammed Ridha Abd Kadir, in today's storm status report, said that 77 residents from 23 families are currently taking shelter at the PPS as of noon. - Bernama
