KUALA LUMPUR – Several residents at Putra Ria apartments in Bangsar heaved a small sigh of relief as no one was harmed when roof sheets flew off the building yesterday, leaving a trail of destruction at the parking lot below.
The fallen roof crushed several cars and motorcycles parked below amid the strong winds and heavy rain.
Resident Noor Azroy Ahmad, 35, said he was lucky not to be at home or in his car when the incident happened.
“I was on my way home when it happened. My family sent me a video showing the roof falling. Sadly, some of the roof pieces pierced through the top of my car and cracked.
“This is not the first time the roof flew off but this is so far the worst. When I got home, I quickly moved my car to stop more rainwater from getting in.
“There are four to five cars that got hit by the roof to my knowledge, but I’m not sure of the total damage.”
Another resident, Santa Kumari Murugaya, 42, said it was frightening seeing the roof peel off and was thankful that none of the neighbourhood kids were playing in the rain.
“It was scary. My family and I were crying inside the house because we could see the roof fly off.
“I was really worried because the kids love playing in the rain. Luckily, there were no kids outside at the time.
“If only the cars got hit – it’s one thing. But I cannot imagine if a child was crushed by the roof.”
Meanwhile, in Pantai Dalam here, the storm uprooted several large trees, causing them to fall onto the houses.
Some of the houses had their roof caved in and walls partially destroyed.
Resident Mohd Shamsul Kamin, 53, said a tree had already hit his house in February this year.
“I had already informed KL City Hall (DBKL) to cut down the trees in this area, but they did not do anything.
“Today, my house is damaged again because of a fallen tree. Fortunately, none of my family members were injured.
“Many houses in this area are damaged because the storm was so strong. The trees here are rotten. I do not understand why DBKL does not want to cut them down.”
Severe weather yesterday uprooted many trees, especially in Bangsar, Kerinchi, Petaling Jaya and the Universiti Malaya campus.
The KL Fire and Rescue Department also received distress calls over fallen trees near a BHP gas station in Jalan Klang Lama, First Residential College in UM, the Trellises apartments and Jalan Leong Yew Koh in Taman Tun Dr Ismail here. – May 25, 2024