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Whirlwind destroys dozens of houses in East Nusa Tenggara
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Severely damaged: Jublina Mauboy, 85, sits inside her house in Sikumana subdistrict, Maulafa district, Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara, after it was damaged by a whirlwind on Nov. 3. (JP/Djemi Amnifu)
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eavy rains, along with a whirlwind, have damaged 123 residences in Sikumana subdistrict, Maulafa district, Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara.
Thirty-four houses suffered severe damage, 67 suffered medium damage, while the remaining 22 houses sustained light damage.
“Although many of the houses suffered different levels of damage, no fatalities were reported in the disaster. The whirlwind occurred very fast, causing a panic,” Kupang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Adi Manafe told journalists on Friday.
He added that BPBD Kupang personnel had been dispatched to the disaster site to collect information from the victims and to channel emergency relief assistance. Data revealed that 111 residents had been affected by the whirlwind, 108 of whom were adults, while the remaining three were under 5 years old.
“We have sent assistance to Sikumana residents whose houses were destroyed by the whirlwind, including tarps, first aid kits, toys, clothing, food and building materials,” he said.
One of the victims, Jublina Mauboy, 85, said she was grateful that she did not lose her life during the whirlwind. She and her two grandchildren were inside their house when the disaster occurred and moved the rooftop 10 meters away from the house.
“The whirlwind happened very suddenly, blowing away the roof of our house to the yard of our neighbor’s house. It happened very fast, only several seconds, before we saw our roof had gone,” said Jublina, adding that she had already received assistance from the BPBD. (ebf)
