PENINSULAR Malaysia struck by the tail end of Typhoon Lekima? The “tail end of a typhoon” refers to the typhoon itself in its gradually weakened stage.
All tropical storms — that is, cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes — go through this end stage before they dissipate.
For example, in 1998, southern Thailand was struck by the tail end of Tropical Storm Gil, a weaker form of a typhoon, which dissipated just over 100km from the Perlis border.
Consequently, the storm brought heavy rains, floods and landslides to the immediate area and also to Perlis and northern Kedah.
Since Typhoon Lekima’s path is to the east of Sabah, it is improper to state that the northern part of the peninsula was struck by the tail end of the typhoon.
It is a bit far-fetched when lands closer to it, like Indo-China and the Philippines, did not suffer any similar effect.
What caused the devastating wind storms that damaged homes and properties in the northern states? It was a mini tornado, which can occur during severe thunderstorms.
Mini tornadoes are the weakest form of tornadoes and they can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, but they can cause devastation in those brief periods.
Unlike monster tornadoes in the United States, most mini tornadoes in this region are hardly visible since they do not suck up much dirt along their short paths.
From the visuals of the damage shown on television, it seems that the mini tornadoes that struck Langkawi and the northern states had a strength of between F0 and F1 on the Fujita Scale, which is a scale for rating tornado intensity.
The public must take shelter in sturdy buildings and not be outside during thunderstorms since flying debris, falling trees and lightning can be deadly.
For the past two decades, I have been trying to convince the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD), the government and the public of mini tornadoes since such a phenomenon has been reported by the meteorological departments of neighbouring countries.
But MMD has termed such incidences as “freak storms”, “micro bursts” and “land spouts”. Hence, the public is not made aware of these occurrences.
The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry and MMD should view this matter seriously and provide warnings to the public concerning mini tornadoes and mini cyclones.
If our meteorologists cannot identify mini tornadoes and mini cyclones, it is time to bring in foreign experts.
Z.A. HARTONO
Sungai Buloh, Selangor