KANGAR: E-Hailing delivery rider Muhd Shafirul Izwan Shahri had been at work for only 30 minutes yesterday when he received a call from his uncle about the roof of his porch being blown off by strong winds.
Shafirul, 28, rushed back home to find his backyard porch roof and several other parts of his roof in his front yard.
"It was about 9am when I noticed that the wind was pretty strong and there was some light rain. I thought it was fine, so I left for work at 9.30am.
"At 10am, my uncle, who lives next door, called and told me that the wind ripped off the backyard porch roof and it landed in my front yard," he said when met at his house in Kampung Alor Pulau, Kangar, today.
Shafirul said that the kitchen roof and the bathroom roof were also damaged by the strong winds.
"There were no other damages, but I estimate that the repairs will cost around RM3,000.
"I have already reported the damage to the authorities, and they promised that I will be compensated, Alhamdulillah," said Shafirul, who lives with his wife and one-year-old child.
Mohd Saifullah Shafiq Abu Bakar, 32, a fisherman from Kuala Sungai, expressed concerns over the significant damages caused by the strong wind, which he estimates repair costs to be around RM10,000.
He said that the storm, which lasted for 40 minutes, ripped apart parts of his roof and damaged the house beams, causing massive leakage throughout his house.
"In the morning, I was sleeping when the wind came first, followed by rain. The wind lasted for 40 minutes, and everything was thrown around. The wind came like lightning, it was very strong," said Saifullah, who has lived in the village for seven years.
He hoped that the relevant agencies would assist him in repairing his damaged house.
Yesterday, a storm wreaked havoc in Perlis in the morning, damaging houses, premises and uprooting some 30 trees. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Perlis Civil Defence Force director Lieutenant Colonel Mohd Izaimi Md Daud said that the storm had affected Beseri in Padang Besar, Arau, Kuala Perlis, and Bintong in Kangar, among others.
Meanwhile, Kangar Municipal Council president Affendi Rajini Kanth said that the council will cover damages to premises under their jurisdiction.
"We have a landscaping department assigned to monitor. In the event of a storm, they will be on standby 24 hours a day.
"If there are any hazardous elements or reports of such, we will take immediate action on fallen trees," he added.
He also said that the council will assist in reporting damages incurred by residents to relevant agencies such as the Welfare Department and the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council.