100 areas in Penang hit by flash floods, 19 families evacuated

GEORGE TOWN: Nineteen families from Teluk Kumbar were evacuated to the temporary evacuation centre at the Dewan Perda following the flash flood that occurred early this morning.
Chairman of the State Committee on Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Alleviation Chow Kon Yeow said almost 100 areas in Penang had been flooded since 5am today.
He said so far only one flood evacuation centre had been opened which was at Teluk Kumbar where more than 40 people had been evacuated to Dewan Perda.
"The flash flood occurred due to the heavy rain caused by the inter-monsoon season and all the 100 areas affected by the flood were in the 47 hotspot areas identified by the Drainage and Irrigation Department,"he told reporters here today.
He said the total amount of rain water reported during the more than four-hour period averaged 100mm since early this morning and high tide reaching 2.1 metres deep resulted in all the five districts in the state being flooded.

However, the chairman of the State Committee on Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Phee Boon Poh said no fatality was reported following the flood.
"So far, we have not received any report on fatal cases due to the flood but landslides were reported to have occurred at Jalan Empangan Air Itam and Jalan Tun Sardon," he said.
Meanwhile, on the mainland, almost all low-lying areas had been affected by the flash flood including several schools around Butterworth.
Among the areas affected by the flash floods were Mak Mandin, Raja Uda, Seberang Jaya, Bukit Mertajam, Permatang Pauh, Perai and Bukit Tengah.
A check by Bernama found that more than 200 houses in the affected areas were inundated under 0.5 to 1 meter but as at 1 pm today no flood evacuation centre had been opened because the people preferred to stay at their own home.
Meanwhile, flood victim Mohd Razak Awang, 45, said his house in Permatang Rawa began to be inundated at 5am after the heavy downpour since early this morning and he had to take leave as he feared the flood situation would worsen.
"My three children who are schooling in standard five until form four also did not go to school today because their shoes and school books and other utensils were also wet due to the flood waters.
"I only realised that water had seeped into the house after my wife woke me up from sleep, the water level at that time was already up to the knee level. We had no time to save anything because flood water was flowing into the house very fast," he said.
As at 2pm today, it was still raining around Seberang Perai and the people affected by the floods were also seen to take precautionary measures and were ready to be evacuated should the situation worsen.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya, when met at a function at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Permatang Pauh said 45 residents from 15 families in Bukit Kechil, Balik Pulau had to be evacuated to the Surau Haji Hashim in the area.
Dr Hilmi, who is also the Member of Parliament for Balik Pulau, said besides Bukit Kechil, several other areas in the parliamentary constituency were also affected by the floods including Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau, Teluk Kumbar and Teluk Bahang and almost 100 houses were flooded.
"While travelling from Balik Pulau to UiTM Permatang Pauh this morning, I was also stuck in a traffic jam for more than one hour due to the flash flood and accidents while in the hilly areas going to Paya Terubong, water from the hill there came pouring down.
Ït was not clean water but red clay water due to the large number of trees being cut down for development in the hilly area. I hope the Penang State Government would take note of the many trees being cut down which could cause flooding," he said. — Bernama