Fierce winds lash northern S’wak, uprooting trees, damaging homes

MIRI – Fierce winds swept across Miri and other districts of northern Sarawak this morning as turbulent weather persists over this part of Borneo.

The wind uprooted and toppled trees in various parts of the city as well as the coastal areas of Bekenu and Niah.

Miri Civil Defence Unit head Usman Harto said the incident today happened at around noon.

There were reports of trees crashing down at the JKR wharf in the Piasau residential area about 2km from Miri city at about noon, he said.

“We deployed our teams to the ground after receiving alerts from the public,” he said in a statement.

“Trees with trunks the size (width) of a car tyre had fallen over. One tree had toppled onto overhead wires.

“We have secured the area and are clearing the trees with our teams using chainsaws to cut the trunks,” he added.

Other residential areas also saw trees being uprooted by powerful winds and blocking roads, with several houses damaged when nearby trees came crashing down.

No serious injuries have been reported so far.

For the past three days, severe weather has plagued the area, which has seen heavy rains and robust winds. – The Vibes, July 11, 2022