WOWS PENANGITES

“On a good day, I can sell hundreds of packets, but today, in this heavy rain, it’s better to close my shop and open on a day with good weather so my food will not go to waste,” said the trader, who wished to remain anonymous.

Parts of Jalan P. Ramlee, near SMK Abdullah Munshi, Lebuh Queen and Jalan Haji Hashim Iman, were flooded but vehicles managed to pass through.

H’ng Zhao Lun, 52, who lives opposite the secondary school said: “Thankfully, our houses are built on higher ground. But I will still be careful and start making preparations to move valuable items to a higher place, in case the flood worsens.

“It is odd to see floods at this time. We hardly had any rain this time last year. I hope the waters subside quickly.”

The rain stopped at 7.15pm and the water subsided by 8pm.

The heavy rain also triggered an unusual waterspout, which became a social media buzz.

Businesswoman E.V. Phang, 30, who was driving along the Penang Bridge, said she was shocked to encounter the phenomenon. She took a video of the waterspout, which lasted more than a minute.

“Luckily, it was just a waterspout. I saw it swirling wildly in the sea before hitting the bridge divider.”

Phang said by the time she reached the end of the bridge, heading towards Prai, the waterspout had disappeared.

A state Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said no reports were lodged and no unwanted incidents took place.

A spokesman from the Meteorological Department told the News Straits Times that the waterspout was “harmless”.

“During heavy rain, the wind is very strong in the middle of the sea. When it meets the rain, it forms a cyclone-like waterspout. It is not dangerous as it moves only on the surface of the water.

“It will vanish either when the rain stops or the strong wind abates,” he said.

In Kuala Lumpur,

the flash floods that occurred daily were expected to last until the middle of May.

Meteorological Department deputy director for Operations Alui Bahari said the country was hit by heavy rain due to the intermonsoon season.

“It is not uncommon for flash floods to occur during the intermonsoon season beginning from the middle of March until the middle of May.”

Alui said the season was changing from the northeast monsoon to the southwest monsoon.

He said flash floods would occur regularly during the season in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Alui warned that people should expect uprooted trees to occur in the areas affected with bad weather.

Meanwhile, an officer of the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council said they would do their best to clear fallen trees.

“As soon as complaints are lodged, we will send out a team to address the situation,” he said.