GEORGE TOWN, Oct 30 — An hour-long torrential downpour, which started around noon yesterday, caused flash floods in Relau and Bayan Baru, reduced traffic to a crawl.

Motorists who travelled in the area were caught in a traffic jam for several hours as the roads were submerged in 0.67m of water.

A check with several shop owners in Relau revealed not much damage had occurred as the water subsided fairly fast after the rain stopped.

One shop owner, who declined to be named, said he was grateful the water did not destroy the items in his stationery shop.

“It’s all good except for the front area which is slightly muddy and wet,” he said.

Local government, traffic management and flood mitigation committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the cause of the flooding was likely due to on-going river diversion works carried out by the developer at the Jalan Datuk Ismail Hashim and Jalan Paya Terubong intersection.

“Water from the river was not discharged effectively because of the diversion works, thus causing an overflow of water along the Relau area, right in front of the primary school,” said Chow.

He said the area was flooded up to one to two feet and several shops were affected.

Chow urged all relevant agencies and the developer to rectify the drainage diversion works of the Sungai Relau that caused flash floods.

“After a preliminary discussion among the technical representatives, I have directed the Penang Island Municipal Council to convene an emergency technical meeting and haul up the developer and their consultants to work out an immediate remedial plan to avoid a recurrence of the problem.” he said.

Three weeks ago, severe flash floods hit various places on the island, including Jalan Anson and Jalan Datuk Keramat, prompting the state government to announce plans to ensure that the floods do not recur.