Cars damaged by the fallen roof at Batu Kawa.
The roof which fell on some vehicles parked at a commercial centre in Batu Kawa.
KUCHING: Strong winds yesterday afternoon in the state’s capital uprooted trees and ripped off the roofs of houses and commercial buildings.
One of the areas where the roofs of houses were blown away was at Taman Padungan, one of the oldest housing areas in Kuching.
A long-time resident Anthony Tan said he was resting at the living room at around 3pm yesterday when he heard loud noises of things falling off.
Upon checking, he said the other residents and he found roofs blown away and some parts were already on the ground.
“We were quite shaken by what had happened. Luckily, no one was hurt and no vehicles were damaged,” he said, adding Taman Padungan, located at Jalan Bukit Mata was established since the 1960s.
Tan said he had been living there since 1963 after his father had bought the house, and it was not the first time that such incident had happened to them.
On behalf of the residents living on the same row, he said they were concerned over the dilapidated condition of a vacant house which has increasingly become a safety hazard.
He revealed that the ceiling and roofing sheets from that house were blown away during a thunderstorm three years ago and they feared that it could be worse if strong winds were to strike again.
Meanwhile, three cars and three motorcycles were damaged by a roof that fell off from one of the blocks of a commercial centre in Batu Kawa following the strong winds.
No one was injured during the incident which also occurred at about the same time as the incident in Taman Padungan.
Elsewhere, several trees were reported to be uprooted in Green Road and the road in front of the State Museum.
There were also uprooted trees at Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho, Kung Ping Garden, Simpang Tiga and also at Simpang SK Sg Kopit in Bau.
Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department were quickly dispatched to the affected areas to clear the debris from the roads.