Deluge brings chaos to northern states

Brief caption: Flood in Taman Thean Tek, Penang.Pix by GARY CHEN/The Star/ 15 September 2017.

ROADS turned into rivers. Storm water cascaded down from slopes and hills.

There was flooding in every low-lying area as torrential rain hit the northern states for more than 10 hours.

The social media too was also ‘flooded’ with pictures of affected homes, landslides, floating cars and chaos brought by the deluge in Penang, described by many as the worst in recent years.

Shocking images of old folks stuck in their beds as water rose and soaked their mattresses in Penang were NOT fake news. They were true.

Five senior citizens lay shivering and helpless in Gan En Zhi Jia – a non-profit home for senior citizens – in Lengkok P. Ramlee as the flood rose to their beds.

Bedridden and caught off-guard, they spent several minutes before help came.

 an elderly man lying helplessly in his bed submerged at the Gan En Zhi Jia home in Lengkok P. Ramlee. 

“It was so sudden. I dialled 999 when the water reached our ankles at 7am. But before firemen came, the water reached the beds,” said the home’s principal Peter Tan Hiang Hock.

He said residents were used to ankle-deep flood waters, but this was the first time the water reached their beds since the home opened in 2004.

All 13 residents were temporarily sheltered in SMJK Heng Ee, while volunteers cleaned up the home.

Firemen, the Civil Defence Force and voluntary fire-fighting squads were out in full force, using boats to help the old and young trapped by the waters.

Many cars were seen floating with their helpless drivers still inside.

They were caught on video trying to drive through the flood in Bandar Baru Ayer Itam and at the State Mosque junction. But when they went too deep, the current floated their cars and they drifted freely.

SJK (C) Han Chiang students getting a helping hand from firemen after an early dismissal due to the flood   

After the flood receded, Consumers Association of Penang education officer N.V. Subarrow visited affected areas and was shocked to find over 100 cars haphazardly left by the roadside.

“The cars could no longer start. Car owners just left their cars and went home. It may take a few days to have them removed,” he added.

Moved by the sufferings caused by floods, Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu posted a public apology on Facebook yesterday:

“I apologise to Penangites for the inconvenience caused by today’s floods. Obviously, we human beings must not be egoistic. We must respect Mother Nature. If you want to develop, please consider sustainability and be friendly to the ecosystem,” he wrote.

In Teluk Kumbar, 40 people from 19 families were evacuated from Kampung Nelayan and sheltered in a nearby surau.

Many schools were flooded too but none were closed. State Education director Shaari Osman said the department did not receive any request from any headmaster or principal to close their schools.

“Schools can actually alert our department in case of disasters such as flood and request to close.”

Residents wading through the waters in Lengkok P. Ramlee. 

In Kedah, the Civil Defence Force reported that over 600 victims from 155 families were caught in floods in Kuala Muda, Langkawi and Kulim. Two evacuation centres in Langkawi and Kuala Muda were opened to shelter 73 people.

The back road of eight terraced houses in Taman Permai Utama in Jeniang, Gurun, collapsed down to the slope below when the earth beneath it gave way at about 2.30pm yesterday, after constant rain from Thursday.