GEORGE TOWN, Oct 29 — On Deepavali day, hundreds of homes including a village nearby Kampung Melayu Air Itam, here were flooded after continuous heavy rain hit Penang island since about 4pm today.
The heavy rain had also caused a traffic grid lock along Jalan P.Ramlee, Jalan Paya Terubung, Jalan Thean Teik, Taman Lumba Kuda and Jalan Masjid Negeri causing thousands of vehicles to be stranded on the road.
Water as high as knee level was reported along Jalan Thean Teik and Jalan Masjid Negeri and cars could not pass through the area causing the area to be cut off from other roads.
Based on an observation by Bernama, Sungai Dondang and Sungai Air Hitam were seen to have spilled over the river banks causing the flash flood.
Meanwhile, people living at Kampung Melayu and along Jalan Thean Teik had expressed their shock as this flash flood was described as the worst they had ever experienced.
V. Visvalinggam and his wife K. Vasanthi whose Deepavali celebration was interrupted by the flood said that they did not expect to be affected by the flash flood as it had never happened before.
“It had rained heavily and I saw the water rising at an alarming rate. Since I started to live here some five years ago, this is the first time we are experiencing a flash flood,” he said.
People living near the affected areas had cancelled their plans to go out from their home following the heavy rain as the traffic was horrendous.
Meanwhile, several low-lying areas on the mainland were also flooded after continuous heavy rain for more than three hours was reported in areas including Bukit Mertajam, Simpang Ampat and Jawi.
The areas that were under between four inches and three feet of water included Permatang Rawa, Jalan Rozhan, Jalan Tasek, Kampung Sungai Kechil, Kampung Nanas and Kampung Gajah.
However, as of eight o’clock tonight no victim had been evacuated.
A resident of Permatang Rawa, Abdullah Ishak, 48, said after a continuous downpour of more than an hour since 4pm today, he and his family took precaution by moving his electrical appliances and furniture to higher places.
He said he was worried that his appliances would be damaged because most of them had been bought after they were spoilt in the previous flood. — Bernama
