Most of public areas in Penang cleaned up following floods

GEORGE TOWN: Most of Penang's public areas have been cleaned up following the devastating floods nine days ago after local authorities and some 10,000 volunteers worked through the weekend.
State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who announced this, said that 95% of the island's public spaces have returned to normalcy although on the mainland, it is only at 70% due to the bigger space to clear.
According to him, the presence of volunteers and the resoluteness of the Penang Island City Council and the Seberang Prai Municipal Council have played a role towards the successful clean up.
The floods drenched Penang with a record setting 315mm of rain for a period of 16 consecutive hours over Saturday and Sunday on Nov 5 and Nov 6.
Chow told a press conference that they expect the public areas in Penang to be fully cleaned up by the end of this week.
Efforts will then shift towards helping those most aggrieved by the floods, Chow said.
Those who are seeking the one-off financial assistance package of RM500, are urged to refer to their respective state assemblyman's offices to register, while in the 10 constituencies held by the Barisan Nasional as the Opposition, there are Pakatan Harapan coordinators in the respective areas to extend help, said Chow.
This is for those who were affected by the floods; from flood waters damaging their household items to trees which fell on vehicles or cars which stalled after they were submerged in water.
In another development, Penang collected over RM2.04 million worth of donations and pledges today for its flood relief fund the "Penang Bounce Back" Fund.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the senior administration officials were on hand to receive the donations, starting with the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce which handed over RM800,000.
Among the other contributors were the Penang Moral Uplifting Society, Pensonic (M) Sdn Bhd and the Malaysian Medical Association.
Contributions have now breached the RM9 million mark.
Details of the contributions is made available online at www.penangbounceback.com
The state will soon announce its latest initiatives to help reduce the burden faced by the flood victims.