KUALA LUMPUR: Penang became the latest state to be hit by floods when 37 people from 11 families in Jalan Gertak Sanggul and Kampung Suluk, Teluk Kumbar, George Town moved to the Perda Teluk Kumbar hall after their homes were flooded last night.
According to the Penang Fire and Rescue Department operations centre spokesman, the evacuees were moved from 10pm yesterday after the flood water started rising up to one metre due to heavy rain since yesterday evening.
"Eleven houses in the areas were flooded and the victims comprising eight men, 18 women, six girls and five boys have been evacuated," he said adding that the department was monitoring the flood situation in the areas while evacuation operations ended at 5.10am today.
Several low-lying areas in Bayan Baru, the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, Batu Maung, Teluk Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul, and Jalan Sungai Tiram were inundated with water levels reaching almost half a metre following heavy rain which lasted until midnight.
The flash floods had also resulted in traffic congestion stretching almost three-kilometre at Jalan Bayan Lepas and damaged several cars and motorcycles.
The floods in the state also forced the closure of several roads while traffic from the Penang International Airport (LTAPP) had to be diverted to an alternative route after roads heading towards the city center were closed.
The spokesman said hundreds of houses and shops in the flood-affected areas including at the Penang festival site in Sungai Nibong were also inundated with the water level reaching about 30cm, however the flood waters began to recede from 1am today.
In Ipoh, PERAK, 338 people from 98 families from several districts were still being accommodated at three evacuation centres as of 10am today, according to the Perak Fire and Rescue Department Director Datuk Yahya Madis.
He said of that number, 139 were being sheltered at Sekolah Kebangsaan Changkat Lobak, 172 people at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Merah and the remaining 27 victims were were accomodated at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT), Simpang Lima.
The flood water level was still at 0.3 to 1.2-metre in the affected areas, he said.
In KEDAH, the number of flood victims at relief centres in Bandar Baharu remained at 130 people as at 10am.
Bandar Baharu District Welfare Officer, Noor Azizah A Razak said 89 people from 24 families were being placed at Sekolah Kebangsaaan (SK) Bandar Baharu and 41 people from 16 families were accommodated in SK Sungai Kecil Ulu.
Among the affected villages were Kampung (Kg) Asam Kumbang, Kg Bagan Samak, Kg Berjaya, Kg Besar dan Kg Raja. - BERNAMA
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