Penang authorities prepare for second wave of floods

GEORGE TOWN: As the possibility of a second wave of flood hangs over Penang, engineers from the Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) are working around the clock to strengthen the embankment of the main river artery near Sungai Muda.
The overflowing of Sungai Muda has been cited as one of the main reasons for the worst ever floods to hit the region, especially on Saturday where a downpour of 12 consecutive hours prompted the spillover onto the low lying areas in Penang.
By Sunday around 3am, the river had washed through to reach Bukit Mertajam, Kepala Batas and Tasek Gelugor and some of the water has yet to recede as of 7pm yesterday.
DID also suffered a setback when a pumphouse near Sungai Muda between the border of Kedah and Penang, was also swept away on Sunday by the gushing waters, said a spokesperson.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has blamed the river's overflowing as the main cause for the water to remain stagnant in Bukit Mertajam, Tasek Gelugor and Kepala Batas areas, saying there was a need to address the easily overflowing of the riverwaters there.
Most of the river levels in Penang are back to normal levels according to the posting on the DID's state portal.
Following a warning from the meteorological department of another wave of rainstorms, folk here are going outdoors armed with their raincoats and umbrellas.
Most parts of Penang and southern Kedah and northern Perak have recorded grey over skies since 3pm with an occasional rainfall.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar earlier yesterday said that floods may come back as the monsoon season was not over yet on the west coast.
"The change of the monsoon will only be completed by the end of Nov," he said, adding that the pattern may shift towards the east coast later.
As of 6pm, 3945 people remained in five flood relief centres in Penang and Kedah.
This is based on the data from the National Disaster Management Agency's portal.
Penang police deputy chief Deputy Comm Datuk Roslee Chik also revealed that 60 personnel had continued to perform their duties on Sunday despite that their home quarters being inundated at Farlim in Air Itam.
The same applied to the 600 firemen who were affected as their stations and homes saw flood water rising, said the state fire and rescue department director Saadon Mokhtar.
He lavished praise on his officers, who went out to help other flood victims despite that their own families falling victims to the flood.