GEORGE TOWN: At least 15 kampung houses in Jalan Tanjung Tokong Lama, here, were severely damaged by a massive waterspout at about 1.30pm today.
The waterspout appeared following a heavy downpour just before noon.
Housewife Aishah Hashim, 64, said she was about to perform the Zohor prayers when the roof of her double-storey village house flew apart.
“I was already prepared with my wuduk (ablution) and telekung, when it happened.
“I was alone and terrified, and did not know what to do.
“Fearing my whole house would collapse, I quickly got out.
“Everything happened in a split second. Now, I have nowhere to stay for the night,” she said this afternoon.
Another resident, Mohd Fareez Othman, 31, said he was hanging out with his friends when the waterspout hit them.
He said they took cover in a nearby building until the situation returned to normal.
“It was huge. I have lived here for more than 20 years, and have never seen such an incident before,” said Fareez.
“Even the heavy downpour two years ago could not match this one.
“We feared for the worse, but alhamdulillah, no one was injured.”
A 20-second footage of the phenomenon went viral on social media.
Other footages showed zinc roofs flying off following the freak storm along with rough and choppy seas due to the waterspout.
Civil Defence Force (APM) personnel were deployed to the scene to monitor the situation.
This is not the first time a waterspout has been spotted in Penang.
A similar phenomenon occurred near the Penang Bridge in April and October 2017.