Some 162 houses in Babalan and Sei Lepan subdistrict, Langkat regency, North Sumatra had been raged by a whirlwind causing hundreds of millions of rupiahs in losses. "Strong winds coupled with heavy downpours damaged the houses in Babalan seriously and nightly," ANTARA quoted Babalan Subdistrict Chief Faisal Matondang as saying today. "We are still collecting data on the natural disaster, and for the time being we found that 56 houses in Teluk Meku village, Securai Utara, Securai, and Brandan Barat regency, East Brandan, were damaged," he said. He said six houses were seriously damaged, and the rest lightly. Faisal added that the whirlwind struck at 6 pm to 6.30 pm on Sunday. In the meantime, Sei Lepan subdistrict chief Wagino said the whirlwind also struck 65 houses in Sei Bilah and 41 in Alur Dua villages. On a different occasion, head of Langkat social affairs office Budi Aspiriyanto said repair personnel have been deployed to the disaster areas. "We have also set up public kitchens to relieve the burden of the victims," he said.
