James Kon
Extreme weather conditions have been wreaking havoc in the Sultanate for the past few days, with the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) saying that on Saturday alone, it received 49 emergency calls over fallen trees, which made up 17.8 per cent of total calls logged since the start of the year.
According to the statistics shared by the FRD yesterday, 68 per cent (187 calls) came from Brunei-Muara District, 13.82 per cent (38 calls) from Belait District, 9.45 per cent (26 calls) from Tutong District and 8.73 per cent (24 calls) from Temburong District.
With an increase in the number of fallen trees due to bad weather, the FRD advised the public to avoid planting trees too close to residences, maintain the trees through regular trimming and refrain from parking vehicles under a tree to avoid undesirable outcomes.
The Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department (BDMD) said yesterday that the Sultanate is currently in the Southwest Monsoon period, where southwesterly wind is likely to be more dominant with stable atmospheric conditions.
“However, we have been experiencing active weather conditions in the past few days due to the formation of a low pressure system over South China Sea, which has resulted in moist atmospheric conditions that cause the development of active rain clouds,” it added in a statement.
Active weather conditions are forecasted to persist until end of the coming week (July 16) with occasional squally showers, especially in the afternoon and at night, and may prolong until early morning.
Showers are expected to be heavy, gusty and thundery at times, with wind gust reaching up to 60 kilometres per hour over land areas whereas over Brunei waters, wind gust may reach up to 80 kilometres per hour.
Over Brunei waters, sea state is generally moderate, at below two metres.
