Chukai town hit by hailstorm

KUALA TERENGGANU: Residents in Chukai, Kemaman, and an area within a three-kilometre radius are surprised by hailstones during a thunderstorm.

Kemaman district police chief Supt Hanyan Ramlan said the incident lasted 10 to 15 minutes and occurred at about 4pm on Wednesday (Oct 23).

“The incident was also accompanied by thunderstorms. The hailstorm damaged the tents of some businesses and the roofs of some houses. It also ripped off the roofs of schools. Police are still receiving reports of damage.

“A 15-year-old local boy reportedly broke his right leg after being crushed by the rubble of a hut at Mak Nik Beach while taking shelter there,” he said when contacted by Bernama on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chukai Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) chief Mohd Zailani Abdullah said 25 members from the station and Kemaman are now at the scene of the incident to clear up fallen trees.

He confirmed that fallen trees hit several cars, but the exact number has not yet been identified.

Terengganu Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) director Rosli Zakaria said the rain occurred due to a combination of thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds.

“When a cumulonimbus cloud forms at a high altitude, the air temperature in the cloud exceeds the threshold value of the freezing level and ice chunks form in that layer.

“When it is very heavy, the ice that forms in the clouds does not have time to melt and falls with the rain as ice,” he said.

He said the incident, which is a rare phenomenon in Terengganu, has nothing to do with the north-east monsoon, which is predicted to start early this November.

Earlier, MetMalaysia issued a thunderstorm warning in Kemaman and Dungun at 3pm this afternoon. – Bernama