SIBU: A ferocious thunderstorm on Wednesday evening caused major damage in town.
Scenes of uprooted trees and dangling roofs on power and telecommunication wires have terrified locals, who had never experienced anything like this before.
Visibility was very poor when the storm hit, at a time when the Muslim community was getting ready to break their fast.
“I could not see anything. Traffic flow was very slow,” said Lerry Silas, a teacher who was among the Catholics going for Mass in conjunction with Holy Week prior to Good Friday and Easter Sunday this week.
There was also traffic congestion as many Chinese families from out of town returned for the Qing Ming festival (known as the Chinese All Souls Day or Tomb-Sweeping Day).
Many were out for dinner or looking for Malay delicacies at the Ramadan bazaar at the Sibu Town Square Phase Two when the storm hit.
A viral video showed traders and customers desperately clinging to tent poles to keep the tents from blowing away. There were also screams as lightning and thunder could be heard.
Sibu Municipal Council chairman Clarence Ting Ing Horh, in a Facebook post, said that Jalan Merdeka Barat resembled a war zone with trees breaching fences of houses, Bernama reported.
He was at the scene till the wee hours to monitor council workers, firemen, and Works Department staff clearing fallen trees along several roads in the city.
“Yes, this day was an extraordinary day – it is rare to see such fury in the weather that lasted for 45 minutes.
“The only bright spot is that I haven’t heard of any casualties,” he posted.
He described the storm as a “typhoon-grade thunderstorm”.
Another widely shared video shows a flat at the Sibu district police headquarters being badly damaged after a wall collapsed.
Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Zulkipli Suhaili said there were no casualties reported in the incident.
