We heard loud bang before landslide - Resident

A house owner at Taman Permai Utama, Phase One in Jalan Jeniang-Gurun where landslide occurred yesterday said he heard a loud bang at the back of his house right before the incident happened.

Mohammad Hanif Mohamed, 35, said he was at home with his wife and their three children aged one to seven years when the landslide occurred at 2.45pm.

"We heard a loud bang which we first thought was an accident involving a trailer or a heavy vehicle, but when we looked through the windows we saw the hillside behind our house had collapsed which was quite scary," said the civil servant when met by reporters here, last night.

On Friday, eight families in the housing estate were ordered by the State Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) to vacate their homes after a landslide occurred on a hill behind their houses.

Fearing the worst, Mohamad Hanif left the house with his family members to look for a safer place to live in.

He said it did not occur to him that a landslide could happen as he had just bought the house for RM78,000 from the developer and they had been living there there since May.

"We have moved into a nearby homestay while investigations and restoration works are being carried out," he said adding that the landslide caused a crack in the kitchen area of his house.

Meanwhile, Gurun assemblyman Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong said most of the affected residents have moved into their relatives' houses after they were ordered to vacate yesterday.

He said the Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSP) had also built barricades to block the affected area to prevent further earth movements which could worsen the situation. - BERNAMA