Yesterday. At midday a heavy thunderstorm, strong gusting wind and pouring rain. When the worst was over I ventured out to buy a wrench in ACE's Pasaraya branch. On the way back I turned left into Kemang Raya and only then remembered that at this time the road is chocker full, an endless line of cars picking up children from the Al Azhar school. Progress was thus slow and I had just cleared the bridge over the swollen Krukut river when agitation rippling through the people on the sidewalk and the oncoming motorcyclists, made me look back. Three cars behind from where I only seconds ago had been, a tree had toppled over. It wasn't a big tree its trunk not more than 3 metres in height, but its top had nonetheless trapped two cars beneath it—one going down and the other going up the incline to Antasari.
That blocked the traffic for a number of hours till the man with the chainsaw cleared the road.
Today I had a closer look. The shallow roots must have lost their grip when the rain washed the last remaining soil away. It just keeled over without a sound of breakage or tearing wood. That explains why I never heard anything and was only alerted by the commotion among the other road users. Of course my ears are not all that good, but at that distance I would have been able to hear it, I think.
The rainy season has started in earnest, let's hope that my luck lasts.
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