Whirlwind hits Batam, many homeless

Whirlwind hits Batam, many homeless

BATAM, Riau: A whirlwind hit Kampung Dapur neighborhood, Sei
Beduk district, Batam, on Friday afternoon, damaging dozens of
houses and leaving 50 families homeless.

Oslen Simanjuntak, head of the neighborhood, said that the
whirlwind suddenly blew into the neighborhood after local
residents had performed the weekly Friday prayer at a nearby
mosque.

It then hit dozens of houses in the area.

No fatalities were reported in the incident, but it left some
50 families homeless.

The residents who lost their houses took refuge at places of
worship after the incident. -- JP