It happened for just a minute, but the damages would take days to repair - Ipoh freak storm victim

SHAH ALAM - “It was like a tornado scene on TV, but this time, it happened right before my eyes,” said a victim of a tornado-like storm that hit Ipoh on Sunday evening.

Muhammad Ameer Firdaus Azizan, 32, said like any other evening, he was at home watching TV when he heard his wife Nur Shuhada Muhammad Huzir Affendi, 29, screaming frantically.

His wife, he said was screaming as she saw a ‘mini tornado’ heading towards their house in Taman Tasek Damai.

He said he heard loud banging noises coming from the roofs of his neighbours’ houses and when he went to look outside, he could already feel the strong wind.

Seconds later, the wind blew off the rooftop just above his head, Ameer lamented.

He said it happened around 6pm.

“The roof covering the part of the living room where I was watching TV was completely stripped off.. the ceiling and all were blown away by the strong wind.

“It was the most horrifying moment. My wife and I hid under the table after our failed bid to keep the doors closed as the wind ripped through forcing it to stay open,” he told Sinar Daily.

He said the incident which only took about a minute or two had caused damages that would take days of repair works.

Ameer said he managed to take out his handphone to record the incident although he was shaking in fear.

He said he made a live video of the incident on his Facebook page with many commenting on his post, praying for his safety and that of his neighbours who were affected.

“It was terrifying, but I had to record it so that I could watch it later and so that others would know what happened,” he said.

Ameer, who had lived there for six years said he had never seen anything like it.

He said the saddest part was that the homes of his Chinese neighbours who had made preparations for the Chinese New Year celebrations tomorrow, were also destroyed.

“I feel very sad for my Chinese neighbours as they worried that the food they bought for the celebration which they kept in the freezer like chicken and fish would go bad because the electricity supply was cut off during the incident.

“Fortunately, the people from TNB (Tenaga Nasional Bhd) came at about 4am and restored the power supply,” he said.

He said after the incident, he had put up a canvas above his house at night just in case it rains.

He added that until now, cleaning processes were still ongoing.

Meanwhile, earlier today, he said went to the police station with 76 other families to lodge a police report on the damages to the properties caused by the freak storm.

Yesterday, hundreds of homes were reported to have been damaged during the storm.

This has also left most of the Chinese residents in despair as they are due to celebrate the Chinese New Year tomorrow.

A Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) spokesman said they received a report of the incident at 6.40 pm and quickly mobilised officers and firemen from the Ipoh JBPM station to the affected locations.

He said several trees were uprooted and houses damaged, no injuries or deaths were reported so far.