Mum ‘fled out of flat in terror’
penang.thestar.com 1/2/2005 BY S.ARULLDAS

“I was afraid that the building was going to collapse,” she said.  “I was crying and screaming, my children were also screaming. My husband was not at home. He had gone to buy something from a nearby supermarket,” she said. 

Sri Ramona recalled the incident when met at her parents in-law’s house in Parit Buntar, Perak.  She said she alerted her neighbours while rushing out of the building. 

Her husband Sabarudin Mohd Yusof, 27, a teacher at SK Jawi near here said:  “During the Dec 26 earthquake I saw the ceiling fan, framed photographs on the wall and decorative plants in my house shake. 

“Now this. I have decided not to return to the apartment. I prefer to live elsewhere even after the building is certified safe,” he said. 

Five families living in the block were told to leave the building. They were placed in a surau located at a neighbouring block.  

Some, like Sri Ramona and her family, had left to stay with relatives.  Fire and Rescue Department officials who rushed to the scene cordoned off the area and helped to evacuate the affected residents. 

A state JKR official who visited the affected units said that the cracking floor tiles was caused by “termo expansion” and there was no structural defect in the building. 

He said such incidents were common on the top floor of high rise buildings.  “Cracks may develop on tile flooring but this can be overcome if we provide spacing inbetween the tiles to allow for expansion in hot weather,” he said.