Malaysia: Penang hit by massive floods, chief minister appeals for military help

Channel NewsAsia 5 Nov 17;

GEORGE TOWN: Massive floods have inundated Penang as the Malaysian state appealed for help from the country's armed forces on Sunday (Nov 5).

In a Facebook video post, Penang's Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng appealed for help from the armed forces as he described the grave situation. He also said he thanked Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for speaking to him over the phone at 3.30am about military assistance.

“We have sought the assistance of the armed forces, which the Deputy Prime Minister has agreed to send. The flooding has worsened. The water level is still rising – 10 to 12 feet above the roof of houses – and the wind is still very strong. (Even) electricity supply at flood relief centres have been cut off," the chief minister was quoted as saying.

In another video post, the chief minister was seen on the ground helping flood victims as they disembarked a vehicle.

Still reeling from the Sep 15 massive floods, several areas in Penang are once again inundated by flash floods which reportedly reached up to 0.5 metres and uprooted trees as continuous heavy rain and strong winds lasted more than five hours on Saturday.

The incessant rain and winds began battering the areas about 2pm.

Among the affected areas in George Town are Kampung Masjid, Jalan P. Ramlee, Sungai Pinang, Jalan Kebun Lama, Lebuh Carnovan, Jalan Anson, Halaman Bukit Gambira as well as Bayan Baru, Bayan Lepas, Batu Feringghi and Balik Pulau.

Reports from the Timur Laut Drainage and Irrigation Department stated that the water levels have reached danger levels in Sungai Pinang, Sungai Air Itam and Sungai Dondang.

One of the affected residents, Abdul Karim Abdul who resides in Jalan P Ramlee said the flash floods in the area were just continuous, one after another, as every time there was heavy rain, their homes would be flooded.

“We are tired of the flash floods and hope the state government does something to solve our woes here ... in this year so far, we were hit by floods more than 20 times."

Flash floods have also caused traffic congestion in the vicinity of George Town, Bayan Lepas, Bayan Baru, Seberang Jaya, Bukit Mertajam and Juru, and led to the closure of several roads.

FLIGHTS AFFECTED

On Saturday, three flights which were scheduled to land at the Penang International Airport had to turn back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and diverted to Langkawi International Airport due to bad weather.

Penang International Airport senior manager Ramzi Ahmad said at least four flights from could not depart to their respective destinations due to the same problem.

He added that operations at the Penang Airport were still running smoothly and so far, the airport has not been hit by floods despite heavy rains on the island.
Source: Bernama/CNA/mn



Penang flood: At least 7 dead as authorities issue heavy rain warning, military mobilised
Channel NewsAsia 5 Nov 17;

GEORGE TOWN: Seven people have been killed and over 3,000 evacuated after a storm triggered serious flooding Sunday (Nov 5) in Penang.

Northeast district police head Anuar Omar confirmed the deaths of Chew Eng Lean, 78, Amanullah Shabib Kalandir, 75, and Lau Guek Jee, 64 on Sunday afternoon. Another victim, 97-year-old Chong Sin Thon, was found in his home.

"The sixth victim identified as Tan Ah Peow, 45, was found by his neighbor at 2pm today while the seventh victim, also a man, was found by a member of the public at 2.40pm," Anuar said.

A Bangladeshi man was also killed while his friend was missing after a tree fell on their rented house in Kampung Perlis in Butterworth on Saturday night.

Meteorological Department has forecast that the rain is set to continue after it showed signs of easing on Sunday (Nov 5) afternoon.

In an update on Facebook, the department issued an "orange" alert warning, which indicates expected continuous rainfall with strong winds in the northern states of Kedah, Perlis and Penang.

Penang's chief minister Lim Guan Eng earlier appealed for help from the armed forces, after massive floods brought the state to a standstill.

The state has also issued an advisory, calling for those in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.

At least 2,800 people had been evacuated and 80 per cent of the state was hit by typhoon-like winds and heavy rain.

The chief minister said floodwater had risen to 3 to 4 metres. Lim also warned in a Facebook post that more rain was expected and advised residents to stay at home.

Military forces were deployed to help thousands of displaced people in Penang, officials said, as floodwater rose from more than 24 hours of incessant rain.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the National Security Council was coordinating with police and the military to assist flood victims after a request for assistance from Penang.

LANDSLIDES, TREES TOPPLED

Hundreds of trees were toppled and roads were submerged, leaving many areas practically paralysed, Malaysian news agency Bernama reported.

Bernama reported that there were 75 reports of falling trees and eight reports of landslides.

Parts of the Penang Hospital, including the neo-natal intensive care ward, was also hit by floods but the hospital is still functioning.

Penang director of health Dr M Sukumar said 104 patients and several newborn babies were moved to flood-free wards and all patients continued to receive their treatment.

"We remain fearful that there may still be untoward incidents because of the strong winds, the like of which have never been experienced before, and flash floods might recur," Lim told reporters in Penang.

FLOODS DUE TO POOR DRAINAGE SYSTEM: PENANG GOVERNMENT

The Penang government confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the floods was due to the poor drainage system.

Penang's Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow told media that the existing drainage system could not accommodate the huge flow of water during heavy rain.

As of Sunday evening, a total of 3,365 people have been placed in temporary shelters after their homes were flooded or destroyed by the storm.

Penang has bore the brunt of the bad weather, but nearly 2,000 were also evacuated in Kedah while 103 were moved in Perak.
Source: Agencies/CNA/mn



Armed Forces on the ground to aid flood-hit Penang
Ahmad Fairuz Othman New Straits Times 5 Nov 17;

JOHOR BARU: The armed forces has been mobilised to tackle the flood in Penang and will remain to assist disaster relief operations.

The armed forces opened an operations room at 4.30am and have deployed numerous assets to flood-hit areas in the state.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he had instructed the armed forces to help flood victims in Penang from the onset.

"At the same time, personnel and assets were deployed to several areas in Penang including Seberang Perai Utara, Seberang Perai Selatan, Seberang Perai Tengah, Southwest Zone and the North East Zone.

"So far, the armed forces have successfully relocated affected residents to safe areas, cleaned up blocked routes and helped in the cleanup work in affected areas," said Hishammuddin via his Facebook page.

He said the armed forces will continue to help in whatever way it can. He also urged the people to pray for the situation in Penang to return to normal.

The Defency Ministry said a team from the armed forces were mobilised at 1.30am today, and its Territorial Army 509 regiment (509 AW) began rendering aid at 3am.

A statement said an operations room was activated at 4.30am.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today that he was thankful for the assistance given to the state as he had contacted Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Lim said that he called Zahid at 3.30am today to seek the armed forces' assistance in the face of Penang’s worsening floods.

A continuous downpour lasting 17 hours, coupled by heavy wind since noon on Saturday paralysed George Town and Seberang Prai, in addition to triggering landslides and uprooting trees, as well as creating unusually heavy traffic due to impassable roads.



What next for Penang? State must revise existing flood mitigation plans, systems
Halim Said New Straits Times 5 Nov 17;

JOHOR BARU: The Penang government must push for speedy implementation of sustainable flood mitigation systems, especially in towns, cities and densely-populated areas.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's (UTM) Faculty of Civil Engineering's hydraulics and hydrology department lecturer, Prof Dr Sobri Harun said the critical flood situation in Penang indicates an urgent need to revise the state's existing flood mitigation plans and flood mitigation systems, especially in the urban areas.

He said there is a need to review existing urban master plans because of the advent of climate change.

"There is an urgency for the Penang government to resolve matters involving its flood mitigation plan. They must engage with all relevant quarters, and make sure that flood mitigation systems are properly maintained and that these mitigations systems are updated," Sobri told the New Straits Times.

He said that based on a general observation of the situation in parts of George Town, Penang since yesterday, it was likely that the city's drains could not cope with the sudden increase in water levels and continuous heavy rainfall.

“There are many factors that could have rendered the drainage system ineffective. There may have been blockages to the water outlets due to poor maintainance of these structures. There is a possibility that the drainage and irrigation system could no longer work and need to be replaced or upgraded.

"It is important for the authorities in Penang to provide proper drainage and flood mitigation systems in areas that are being further developed," said Sobri.

He said, based on rainfall data from the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) website, he found that rainfall amounts were "off the charts" in the northern region on Saturday.

Sobri said, based on DID data, rainfall recorded at the Kampung Lahar Ikan Mati station in Northern Seberang Perai, Penang was unusually high between Oct 31 and today, and that the highest amount was recorded today (Nov 5) with 457mm of rainfall.

"These readings surpassed the average monthly records for rainfall. There is usually between 13mm to 15mm of rain recorded daily in that area, while the monthly average is 250mm of rainfall," he said.



Penang floods: Meteorological Dept explains what triggered heavy rainfall
Ahmad Fairuz Othman New Straits Times 5 Nov 17;

JOHOR BARU: The extraordinary amount of continuous rainfall in Penang and parts of Kedah since Saturday was caused by a low pressure area in the two states.

Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) director-general Alui Bahari said that the low pressure area attracted strong winds and moisture which resulted in heavy rain that led the department to issue a Red Alert warning in the two states on Saturday night.

"The extraordinary rainfall, which was continuous in Penang and parts of Kedah on Nov 4 and 5, was due to low pressure area. This area became a focal point for winds and high level of moisture which resulted in continuous heavy rain and strong winds.

"This low pressure area had first taken shape in the South China Sea in the end of last month and it moved across southern Thailand before reaching Peninsular Malaysia on Nov 4," said Alui in a statement to the New Straits Times.

Alui said that rainfall readings at MMD stations in the north showed particularly high amount of rainfall that peaked on Saturday night.

He said areas such as Prai recorded 225.6mm of rainfall on Saturday, which was higher than the 5.6mm of rain recorded in the same area the previous day.

The rain in Prai decreased to 73.4mm as of 11am today.

Heavy rain also occured on Saturday in Butterworth (233mm), Bayan Lepas (174.5mm), Alor Star (41.4mm) and Chuping (39.6) in Perlis.

Explaining the recent weather patterns, Alui said that the MMD issued warnings of heavy rain for the past five days, and the information had been channeled to the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), other related agencies and disseminated via its Facebook page and website.

The MMD issued a Yellow Alert for Heavy Rain Warning on Nov 1 involving Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Perlis, Kedah and Penang.

"Continuous rain occured on Nov 2 to 3 in Kelantan, Terengganu and it moved to Perlis, Kedah and Penang on Nov 4.

"As heavy rained continued, the warning was upgraded to Orange Alert in the evening of Nov 4 for Perlis, Perak, Kedah and Penang.

"In the early part of last night (Nov 4), increasing heavy rain led to the MMD issuing a Red Alert for Penang and part of Kedah.

'"Until this morning, rain is expected to continue until tonight in the north. The category of heavy rain was reduced to Orange Alert because of a weakened low pressure area," said Alui.

He said cloudy and intermitent rain was forecast for the northern peninsula states tomorrow, and the condition is only expected to improve on Tuesday.

Alui rejected theories that the extraordinary and continuous heavy rain in the north could be blamed on the effects of the recent Typhoon Damrey in Vietnam.

"Weather changes as what we saw can cross over borders. But in this case, the heavy rain in the north may have had an indirect affect from the typhoon. We are still far away from the typhoon area," said Alui.