Structural assessments undertaken in Tanjung Bungah and Penang Hill: MBPP

GEORGE TOWN: Residents living in the hilly terrain around Tanjung Bungah and Penang Hill need not worry unduly as the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has undertaken structural assessments of their neighbourhoods as part of efforts to check the safety integrity of the area after last month's devastating floods and landslides.
Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said the areas around Tanjung Bungah, as well as Bukit Bendera, were largely safe now after the Nov 4 floods, including the landslide which had buried alive 11 construction workers in October.
"Concerned residents near the tourism spots in Bukit Bendera should also be assured that everything will be back to normal, latest by early next month," Zairil said in an interview.
For those staying at Penang Hill, Zairil urged them to be patient as the mitigation works on the slopes were underway.
The hill recorded several instances of landslips following the unusual downpour, where 16 consecutive hours of a rain on Nov 4th and 5th led to an unprecedented level of flooding in Penang.
"Time is needed to settle things as there are some technical aspects which need to have adhered to, for safety reasons."
On claims that the traders near the Penang Hill were unhappy as their rice bowls were affected, Zairil hoped that the disgruntled traders would understand the situation as nobody wanted this to happen.
"Just be patient. We will bounce back and businesses can recover."
On tenants living along the Pesiaran Tanjung Bungah area, which consisted of the Surin Condominiums, Coastal Towers, Straits Regency, Twin Towers, the Marina, Waterfront, Zairil said that the neighbourhood was generally safe after the MBPP geotechnical engineers had inspected the area.
He also explained that it wasn't the retention wall at Surin Condominiums which had fallen apart due to a landslide, but the one opposite the nearby Straits Regency – the Beverly Hills Rainbow bungalows' outline wall which had suffered a partial collapse.
None of the Surin's infrastructure, including its condominiums, were affected by the landslide.