Storm causes tree to fall on HDB block, shattering windows

Heavy rain and strong winds early yesterday morning caused an eight-storey-tall tree to topple onto a Housing Board block in the Old Airport Road area.

There were no injuries and the tree and debris have been removed.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Member of Parliament for Mountbatten, told The New Paper that 10 units of Block 97 Jalan Dua were affected, mostly by windows getting smashed.

They are on the third and eighth storeys of the 10-storey building.

A 66-year-old resident living on the sixth storey, who wanted to be known as Madam Lai, was getting ready for the day when she heard a crash. Her husband was in the bathroom getting ready to go for his morning walk.

She told The New Paper: "I was so scared. I didn't know what had happened and my first thought was that my husband fell because he has high blood pressure and had fallen twice before."

Madam Lai was shocked to find her kitchen window smashed. "The glass shards were covering the entire kitchen floor," she said.

When TNP visited her unit in the afternoon, the shards had been cleared but she was still waiting for contractors to handle the damage to the window.

Mr Selvam Steve, 52, who lives in a fifth storey unit with his wife and two children, woke up to the shock of finding glass pieces covering the floor in the kitchen and living room.

He said: "The tree crashed through the window and the impact pushed the cabinet we had by the window off the wall.

"All the glass on the floor was from the window and the kitchenware in the cabinet."

The Marine Parade Town Council (MPTC) immediately activated its horticulture contractor after the residents alerted it.

The MPTC is liaising with the affected residents and assisting them in repairing the damage, a spokesman said.

Ms Gloria James, head lawyer of GJC Law, said: "If the case is an act of God, then residents are liable to cover their own expenses. Alternatively, they can look towards their home insurance coverage to cover the cost of the damage suffered."

Mr Steve commended the Town Council on its quick response, but he had concerns about the cost of repairing the damage.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.