Roofs Gone, Trees Uprooted And 20 Made Homeless As Thunderstorm Strikes
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - A sudden mid afternoon thunderstorm accompanied by strong winds yesterday caused havoc and brought misery to many, especially in Kampong Kilanas, in the outskirts of the Brunei capital.

Roofs were blown away, trees uprooted and electrical poles crashed while traffic came to a standstill around 3 pm yesterday. The heavy rain lasted about one hour.

In several roads at the village, traffic halted as firemen removed fallen trees.

Twenty people were made homeless as most of the roof of their homes was blown away. That included two families of eight and others.

A man who stayed in the house said he was outside the house when rains accompanied by winds lashed the capital.

"I could hear the howling wind before the roof was blown away. I ran to the other house to seek refuge.

"One of the parked vehicles was slightly damaged by the blown roof," he said.

The occupants said they have to find an alternative accommodation until the roof is repaired.

Affected families said they had nowhere to go to while another occupant of the rented room said he had to stay with friends.

According to Hj Yusof, the Ketua Kampong Kilanas, he received at least five calls from his villagers saying roofs of their houses were blown away.

The thunderstorm also blew away a portion of Hj Yusof's house, causing damage to his daughter's room.

Part of the roof hit one of his daughter's car and shattered the windscreen.

Most of the affected houses had their electricity cut off while a fallen electric post stopped power to several houses in the vicinity.

Officials from Fire Services Department and Department of Electrical Services were seen busy into the night cutting off fallen trees as well as restoring power. (Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin)

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