BUTTERWORTH, Nov 20 — Over 70 houses in the district here were hit by flash floods following a three-hour downpour early today.

The areas affected were Kampung Sungai Lokan, Kampung Tok Bani, Kampung Manggis, Kampung Perlis, Jalan Assumption, Bagan Dalam and Taman Limbungan.

According to a statement from the Penang Disaster Management Secretariat the heavy rain which fell from 3am to 6.30am resulted in floods at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Tamil (T) Mak Mandin and several factories at Jalan Perusahaan Mak Mandin 5.

The water level rose between 0.3 metre to 0.6 metre but no one was evacuated as the water receded about three hours later.

"The worst affected areas were Kampung Perlis and Jalan Assumption when more than 50 houses were inundated following the flash floods. The committee will monitor the situation from time to time,” according to the secretariat.

Meanwhile, a flood victim in Kampung Perlis, Abdul Razak Ibrahim, 39, said he only realised his home was inundated after a neighbour contacted him to inform that a flash flood had hit the village.

"It was 5am when I quickly woke up my wife and two children. We managed to move some electrical items to higher ground,” he said when met at his house.

He said this was the third flash flood to hit their house this month and he hoped the authorities especially the state government would take immediate action to address the problem.

His neighbour, Noorzalinah Mohd Jamal, 51, claimed that flash floods occurred as the main drains in the area were too narrow to handle the large volumes of water. Meanwhile in IPOH, floods hit several areas in Gerik, Batu Gajah, Bagan Datoh Kuala Kangsar and Lenggong early this morning.

According to a Perak Disaster Management Secretariat spokesman, four family members from Kampung Padang were evacuated to Gerik Community Hall when their house was hit by floods following heavy rain last night.

He said other areas affected were Kampung Ramasamy, Kampung Kerunai, Bendang Kerajaan, Pekan Gerik, Taman Permai, Taman Desa Kasih, Taman Air Suda 1 and Taman Air Suda 2.

The Batu 3 main road, Jalan Tanjung Tualang near Batu Gajah was also flooded, he said. — Bernama