STORM CAUSES DAMAGE AT KOTA BHARU RAMADAN BAZAAR, TRADERS FACE LOSSES

KOTA BHARU, March 8 (Bernama) -- Heavy rain and strong winds, which hit at around 3 am today, have caused significant damage to more than 20 out of 60 tents at the Ramadan bazaar near Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, resulting in losses for dozens of traders.

The severe weather caused several tents to collapse onto stalls, damaging goods and business equipment.

A check by Bernama found that traders were cleaning up the area and salvaging any items which could still be used, while the bazaar management worked on repairing the damaged tents.

No injuries have been reported so far, and traders are hopeful for better weather in the coming days to avoid similar incidents.

Mohd Fadzil Hassan, 42, a fried chicken trader who had just started his business this year, said that the incident was an unexpected setback.

“I came this morning expecting to do business as usual, but I was stunned to find that my tent had collapsed, and my cooking equipment was damaged.

“I haven't even managed to recover my capital yet, and then this happens. It's the first time such an incident has occurred at the Ramadan bazaar,” he told Bernama today.

Meanwhile, Mohamad Naim Zainal, 38, a murtabak seller, only became aware of the incident after seeing images in the traders’ WhatsApp group.

“I woke up, then checked my phone, and saw pictures of the collapsed tents. I was shocked to see that my stall had been affected as well. I rushed over immediately to assess the damage,” he shared.

Upon arrival, he discovered that part of his tent had been blown away, and some of his cooking equipment was damaged by rainwater.

-- BERNAMA