At least 80 houses in Kuala Kedah suffered damage, mainly to their roofs, during a storm yesterday evening.

The heavy rain and strong wind at about 5pm blew off the roofs of many of the houses located along the coast.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coordinator for the Kuala Kedah parliamentary constituency, Syed Zainuzman Syed Yahaya, said the worst affected were the village houses in Pengkalan Kundor.

He said National Security Council (NSC) officers would arrive today to assess the situation and identify the people affected.

The roofs of some of the houses were blown away over a distance of 500 metres, he told reporters at Taman Sayang near Alor Setar today.

Kuala Kedah Umno vice-head Abdul Muthalib Harun said the party had contacted the NSC and the Welfare Department for aid for the victims.

He said the party had provided immediate relief assistance to several victims, most of them in Taman Sayang where five houses and a surau were damaged.

“I advise the victims to lodge police reports,” he said.

A resident of Taman Sayang, Mohd Amzari Yub, 33, said he had gone to close the gate when his wife, who was with their four-year-old child, screamed that the ceiling had given way and water was pouring into the living room.

“I was unable to do anything except to wait for the rain to stop,” he said.

Another resident, Sukarno Abdul Mutalib, 32, said he was not at home then but was told by a neighbour that the porch of his house was missing.

“When I returned home, I round the roof gone and water everywhere in the house. I estimated the damage at RM10,000,” said Sukarno, who lives there with his wife and a two-year-old child.

- Bernama