Flash flood havoc again
> Continuous rain brings more woes to Penang, Perak residents
GEORGE TOWN: Several areas in Penang were hit by flash floods just after midnight yesterday following hours of continuous rain.
Among the areas affected were Jalan P. Ramlee on the island and Permatang Pauh on the mainland after Sungai Perai there burst its banks.
However, residents around Jalan P. Ramlee, who have faced flood issues for decades, were thankful as the water did not enter their homes this time.
Kampung Kebun Lama resident Amir Osman, 39, said the rain started at about 11.30pm and lasted a few hours.
Salamiah Hakim, 50, also expressed relief that nothing untoward happened.
In PERMATANG PAUH, the exit at the Sungai Dua toll plaza, which was closed to traffic after flood waters inundated a stretch of the road there at about 8.30am yesterday, was reopened at 11.15am.
Posts on social media also showed that Mak Mandin, Taman Bagan, Jalan Raja Uda and Ampang Jajar were affected as well.
Penang has been in the spotlight after flash floods had wreaked havoc four times since Deepavali last month.
The state government has denied claims that the floods were caused by over development in the state.
In a related development, State Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh proposed a tidal gate be built at the mouth of Sungai Pinang, which flows into the sea.
The river is within his constituency of Datuk Keramat and he reasoned that the tidal gate could help mitigate flooding in the area as the gate could be closed during high tide. He said floods were worse during high tides as seawater flowed back into Sungai Pinang, a major river in Penang, during heavy rain.
In IPOH, heavy rain last Saturday caused flash floods in several areas in Gerik, Lenggong, and Batu Gajah in Perak, but no evacuation orders were given.
The affected areas were Kampung Air Suda, Kampung Ramasamy, Kampung Padang, Jalan Takong Datok, the market in Gerik, Kampung Beng in Lenggong and Batu 3 of Jalan Tanjung Tualang in Batu Gajah, according to a Perak Fire and Rescue Department spokesman. He said flood waters rose to 1.2m in the five areas in Gerik.
“One person, who was trapped in the floods at the market, was rescued by boat,” he told Bernama.