More is to be expected

THE Selangor Meterological Department has said Subang Jaya was the worst affected by the storm on Sunday and more is expected during the week. A department official said other areas like Puchong had also been hit. He said trees were uprooted and roofs of homes had been blown off in these areas.

“This kind of storm can happen anywhere due to heavy cloud activity,’’ he said. He added that Subang Jaya had experienced a similar situation once before. The official said it could not be concluded that Subang Jaya was prone to hailstorms. “But what happened on Sunday can be regarded as extreme,’’ he said Meanwhile, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) has received about 40 complaints on the hailstorm havoc on Sunday.

According to the reports made by the residents, there were more than 50 cases of trees being uprooted Residents have complained of damage to their houses and vehicles. There was also a power failure in USJ 3 at about 3.30pm. Power supply was restored only at about 11.45pm. A USJ resident said it was lucky that the storm occurred on a Sunday, otherwise there would have been a massive traffic congestion.

MPSJ public relations assistant director Azfarizal Abdul Rashid said the affected areas were USJ 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 and 17 as well as Kampung Kenangan in Puchong with flash floods reported in some of the low-lying areas. He added that they first received reports of uprooted trees at 2.30pm. “We took immediate action to clear the trees. We had to scramble to remove the trees that were obstructing roads and walkways as well as those that were deemed dangerous. “By 1am, we removed most of the trees and are now clearing branches that were cut off,” he said.

Azfarizal urged the public to call 03-5637 6545 to report any cases of uprooted trees and go to the MPSJ evaluation and property management department to make insurance claims for damaged property.

extracted from the Star ( 15 Nov 2011 )