Sabah braces for tail effects of Typhoon Kammuri

Vehicles pass by toppled electrical poles caused by Typhoon Kammuri in Legazpi City southeast of Manila in the Philippines. (AP pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is bracing itself for the tail effects of Typhoon Kammuri this week although the weather department does not expect it to cause any widespread disaster in the state.

Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Misran Bisara said they are ready to respond to any emergency following an alert from the Meteorological Department.

“The forecast is that there will be heavy rain and thunderstorms especially on the west coast of Sabah. As such, all our assets such as boats are on standby,” he said.

Sabah Meteorological Department director Amirzudi Hashim said the typhoon was still categorised as severe as of 2pm today but its intensity was expected to drop by Friday afternoon.

He said the department was in touch with Japan’s Meteorological Agency, which was monitoring the tropical storm in the region.

“It will not hit our country but we will receive the tail-end effect of rain and thunderstorms on the west coast in the morning and in the interior areas in the evening over the next few days,” he said.

In a statement, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) said it was also prepared with mobile generator sets in the event of power outages.

Latest reports said at least four people were known to have died after Typhoon Kammuri ripped through the Philippines, with high-speed winds prompting large-scale evacuations, tearing off roofs and shutting down Manila airport. - FMT