Penang begins clean-up efforts after disastrous floods

GEORGE TOWN: With signs that floodwaters were gradually withdrawing in most localities of Penang except for the Bukit Mertajam, Tasek Gelugor and Kepala Batas areas, authorities have now begun the recovery and clean-up phase.
State public think tank Penang Institute plans to unveil an unprecedented network of volunteers to aid in the clean-up process, especially with more than 9,000 people and hundreds of properties directly affected by the floods.
Banking on his experience in marshalling hundreds of volunteers for the floods in Bukit Mertajam, the institute's director Steven Sim Chee Keong has been spreading the message of volunteerism on social media, particularly to the young.
Sim, who is the Bukit Mertajam MP, hopes that the youths can come together to help Penang rebound fast.
The authorities are hoping to engage at least 25,000 volunteers throughout Penang to clear the debris and damage left behind by the worst floods to have inundated the state in decades. Registration is being done via social media.
At 8am, some 5,000 folks remained in 41 flood relief centres, according to the National Disaster Coordination Centre's online portal, while seven people were listed as killed – six Malaysians and a Bangladeshi.
Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said the volunteers will be deployed to houses of flood-stricken victims and public institutions as well as old folks' homes.
The volunteers will be divided into operations (clean-up and relocation), food (preparing and serving meals), emergency (providing aid services) and transport (to ferry people around).
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon also urged for the distribution of as many cleaning equipment as possible, especially jet pump water devices.
Elsewhere, the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has deployed their geo-technic specialists to gauge the safety and structural integrity of houses near hillslopes which witnessed landslides and the uprooting of huge trees.
Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu wants a complete assessment of the affected hillside areas done now, especially in Persiaran Tanjung Bungah where some 100 tenants of the Straits Regency Condominiums are living in fear.
A major sinkhole nearby and the collapse of a retention wall at a neighbouring high-end housing project is a cause for alarm.
Teh also wants hill roads along Paya Terubong, Balik Pulau, Teluk Bahang, Tanjung Bungah, Tanjong Tokong and Bukit Jambul to be inspected to prevent the recurrence of landslides.
Kebun Bunga assemblymen Cheah Kah Peng said that the environment and flood mitigation plans will be on the minds of a majority of the backbenchers when the state legislative assembly sitting reconvenes today.