SIBU: Heavy rain and thunderstorms here wreaked havoc, causing at least 15 trees to fall in several parts of the town yesterday.
It was a situation rarely seen by residents of the town, prompting Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting to describe one affected area at Jalan Merdeka Barat as a ‘war zone’.
Ramadan bazaar stalls at Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang Phase 2 and several houses had their roofs blown off around 6.10 pm.
The Sibu Civil Defence Force (APM) in a statement yesterday said they received calls from the public for assistance to remove the trees which had caused roads to become inaccessible.
“The roadside trees that were uprooted were in Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, Jalan Pahlawan, Jalan Deshon, Jalan Teng Chin Hua, Jalan Pahlawan, Ulu Sungai Merah dan Jalan Merdeka,” APM said.
Meanwhile, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting in his Facebook postings said it was “rare to see a day of fury in which the bad weather lasted 45 mins. The only bright spot is I didn’t hear of any casualty.”
Ting said that at about 12.45 am, clearing works were still ongoing by several authorities comprising among others BOMBA, APM and SMC.
“The BOMBA team is still at Jalan Pahlawan cutting down the last big tree. Jalan Oya and the roundabout were cleared with the help of JKR.
“The SMC team was in action at Jalan Merdeka Barat which looks like a ‘war zone’ with three trees still breaching the fences of houses but the road is clear for traffic.
“Jalan Brooke Drive is cleared with still one tree slanting too much into the road and Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai after Jalan Oya, has one tree leaning onto the inner lane. And there are still debris on the right lane near Jalan Pahlawan junction,” he said.
Ting said many areas along Brooke Drive, Merdeka, Au Yong and Cherry still suffered blackouts as at 12.45 am.
“Sesco has yet to restore power. It could be due to damaged overhead lines. Many houses reported rooftops blown off. Even one traffic light pole was twisted,” he stressed.
Even the Sibu police housing quarters were not spared. Several units were damaged.
“Sx flats were left with open roofs, two flats with part of the roof torn off, and one unit with damaged walls,” said Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili when contacted.
