Over 100 houses damaged by strong winds in Semporna

SEMPORNA (Dec 22): A disaster struck at four water villages here today as more than 100 houses were damaged by strong winds.

A Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said a team rushed to Jalan Simunul after being informed at 6.21am, where they found many of the houses were heavily damaged and short-circuits had occurred at the water village.

He said the team inspected the area and told the residents to move to a safer place, adding that they will continue to monitor the affected areas. No casualties were reported in the incident.

“The total number of houses affected is 112, as well as a masjid, a surau, a children’s development centre and 20 vehicles, from four villages, namely Kampung Selamat, Kampung Seri Aman, Kampung Sejati and Kampung Batu,” he said in a statement.

Semporna district officer Alexander Liew said a temporary relief centre was opened at the Bubul Ria People’s Housing Programme (PPR) to shelter the storm victims.

“Aid, including food, will also be provided,” he said today.

He said that 102 houses were damaged, 11 collapsed, adding that two surau were also destroyed during the storm.

Meanwhile, the acting Semporna district police chief, Arif Abdul Razak, said strong winds and heavy rain occurred at 3 am today, and the authorities received reports of damaged and collapsed houses in the four villages.

“The storm also caused power poles to fall, leading to outages, with over 100 houses suffering roof damage and some houses collapsing, including more than 15 vehicles being damaged,” he added.

Meanwhile, Liew said in a statement that the Semporna District Disaster Management Committee, which he chairs, has declared the incident a disaster.

“The disaster declaration was issued at 2.41pm today following the storm,” he said.

He added that the declaration was made based on reports and field information received from the agencies in the committee.

In a separate case, two men escaped unhurt after a Proton Saga FLX lost control and veered into a drain near Kampung Kopungit in Kota Kinabalu yesterday

The spokesperson said upon receiving a distress call at 8.19pm, a 14-man team rushed to the scene.

“Two men aged 27 and 38 managed to get out of the vehicle before the team arrived.

“The victims were reportedly in safe condition and refused to be sent to the hospital.

“After ensuring no further dangers at the scene, the operation concluded at 8.55pm,” he said.