Buildings hit and trees toppled as hailstorm pummels Turf City, Singapore

A heavy thunderstorm pelted Turf City with hailstones yesterday afternoon, felling trees and causing damage that could prove costly for some businesses there.

The owner of All Star Golf Range, Mr Tendy Tsai, told Channel NewsAsia that the severe thunderstorm happened at around 2.30pm and caused some structural damage to the facility, but no one was injured.

Mr Tsai said he was waiting for the surveyor to assess the damage.

"The golf range will be closed for approximately two to three months and we will incur a loss of about S$300,000," he added.

[embedded content]

Mr Derrick Tan, operations manager at Sunny Heights, a daycare centre for pets, said he thought the afternoon storm was just going to be like any other. "But about 10 minutes later, we could see our tentages flying around outside our office. There were also small hailstones raining down," he said. "At that time, from our CCTV, we could see trees falling down. One fell on the edge of our roofs and caused minor dents and cracks on the glasses.

"But our pavilion, where people can relax with their pets, and the walkway leading to it were completely covered by a tree that collapsed."

The centre's water pipes have also burst, which means business will be closed for a period of time, Mr Tan said. "But I'm not sure for how long we'll be closed. Luckily, no pets and nobody were injured."

Mr Aung Kolatt, 31, who also works at Sunny Heights, said when he arrived at the centre to help clear the fallen trees, he was shocked at the extent of the damage caused.

"We helped to cut and clear the trees," said Mr Aung. "We have been working for about two-and-a-half hours (but) we haven't made much progress."