Tornado wrecks havoc in Semarang

Residents assess the damage after a tornado damaged 150 houses in the district of Tembalang in Semarang, Central Java late on Saturday afternoon.

Three people were injured and at least five of the houses in the Sendangguwo and Tandang neighborhoods were destroyed, while many others were seriously damaged as the tornado ripped off their roofs.

Tohirin aka Jayeng, 40, a resident whose house was leveled at the Sendang Asri housing complex, said the winds hit about 4 p.m.

"I saw this black wind coming and becoming pointed into a funnel. It suddenly approached and hit my house," he said.

Tohirin's wife, two children and mother-in law were in the kitchen at the time when the tornado known locally as "Ulur-ulur" passed over their home, destroying the guest and bedrooms.

"It was as if the wind had lifted my home up," Tohirin said.

The disaster also destroyed the walls of four neighboring houses.

Many other homes in the area lost their roofs and residents and neighbors had started rebuilding on Sunday.

Tembalang district head Dayat said the tornado also damaged a small mosque and felled power lines and about 50 trees. His office was still collecting data on the damage, he said.

Villagers said the tornado was the worst to hit the district in living memory.

Semarang Mayor Sukawi Sutarip and his wife, Sinto Sukawi, visited the scene on Sunday, accompanied by senior officials.

"We will provide the victims with assistance immediately," the mayoral spokesman Achyani said -- Suherdjoko/The Jakarta Post/Semarang