Penang thunderstorm damages 100 homes

Tasek Gelugor area worst hit with roofs of 42 dwellings blown off.

TASEK GELUGOR: The roofs of about 100 houses were blown off while dozens of trees were uprooted during heavy rain and thunderstorm in Penang Friday evening. The worst-hit during the two-hour inclement weather beginning 6pm was Tasek Gelugor as 42 houses were damaged.

Tasek Gelugor Member of Parliament Shabudin Yahaya said today,residents affected by the thunderstorm were given immediate cash aid and a report on the incident would be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Department for further action.

Meanwhile in Permatang Pauh, Umno division chief Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said said 20 houses in Penanti and 10 houses in Seberang Jaya were badly damaged by the storm. He said he visited the victims and extended cash aid, adding that Permatang Pauh Umno would help residents to repair their damaged houses.

A victim, Rosnah Ahmad, 58, said during the incident at 6.20pm, she and her husband, Ahmad Razali, 64, who is paralysed, and their two grandchildren, aged seven and three, were inside their house when heavy rain and strong winds struck.

- BERNAMA