28 hikers trapped on Gunung Jerai as heavy rains lash parts of Kedah and Penang

To safer ground: A Fire and rescue team evacuating residents from flooded homes in Jalan P. Ramlee, Penang.

SUNGAI PETANI: Firemen on a mission to rescue 28 hikers, who were trapped due to a swollen river caused by heavy rain while on an expedition at Gunung Jerai, have reached them.

They reached them at about 11pm last night after braving heavy rain and strong currents on the river.

The hikers, who are staff of the Perak Health Department, were trapped midway down the mountain when strong current and rising water stopped them from crossing a river which lies along their expedition path, said Yan fire station operations commander Radzi Talib.

He said the Fire and Rescue Department received the distress call at 4.46pm and a search and rescue operation was launched.

Radzi said the rescuers reached the hikers, aged between 28 and 57, at about 11pm last night and were in the process of helping to bring them down the mountain at press time.

Kedah was also hit by floods yesterday, with 20 villages in Kuala Muda District affected as at 9pm last night.

District Disaster Management Committee’s secretariat coordinator Kapt (PA) Azahar Ahmad said the most seriously affected was Mukim Bujang where eight villages were inundated.

Cars submerged by floods at the Bedong-Gurun Road in front of a temple in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

 

“The floods are due to continuous rain, high tide, and the drainage system which was unable to cope with the big volume of water,” he said.

In Penang, some workers on night shift were unable to get to their workplace due to floods in Ayer Itam. Ganga Devi, 52, a senior nurse at a private hospital said this was the first time she had to call her workplace to inform that she was not able to come in.

“I have never been absent from work because of floods for last 32 years,” said the nurse who lives in Paya Terubong.

Flood waters inundated Ayer Itam Road heading to the city near the state mosque, resulting in cars unable to pass through. There were also traffic congestion in many other roads on the island and mainland Penang as motorists slowed down their vehicles as they traversed flood waters covering these roads.

Teluk Bahang assemblyman Datuk Shah Headen Ayoob Hussain Shah claimed that yesterday’s floods was the worst that hit Balik Pulau.

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said the floods that hit Bayan Baru this time was worse than that on Sept 15.

“Bandar Bayan Baru encompassing the area around Jalan Tun Dr Awang, Jalan Mahsuri, Jalan Mayang Pasir and Jalan Tengah were affected,” he said, adding that the Bandar Bayan Baru and Taman Iping flood mitigation projects were in tender process and should begin by early next year.

Part of Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim submerged during the floods in Penang.

 

A Penang Fire and Rescue Services Department spokesman said there were no casualties and 13 people affected by landslides were moved to various relief centres.

Penang International Airport senior manager Ramzi Ahmad said four flights, which were supposed to land in Penang from 4.55pm, were diverted to Langkawi or returned to Kuala Lumpur.

Besides Penang Island City Council workers who were busy clearing fallen trees and branches along roads in Balik Pulau and Relau, volunteers also helped out in other tasks.

Among them were 20 Gerakan volunteer corps members who were seen helping people and directing traffic along Patani Road, Datuk Keramat Road and Kampung Dodol.

Gerakan legal bureau chairman Datuk Baljit Singh said the group decided to be on the ground as many were stuck and could fall into manholes or uncovered drains.

Meanwhile, photographs of a boulder which was seen almost falling from the hill on the road from Teluk Bahang to Balik Pulau have gone viral on social media.

Hidden dangers: Floodwaters covering part of Jalan Tun Dr Awang and monsoon drains along the stretch.

 

State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the state government was aware of the situation and the relevant authorities were handling the matter.

On the Penang mainland, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin said areas in Guar Jering and Guar Perahu were badly hit.

“Thousands of villagers have been given warning to prepare for evacuation and we have deployed volunteers to be on standby. “This flooding gives us more reasons to control earthwork and hillside clearing,” she added.

A Meteorological Department spokesman said the rains lashing the northern states were expected to continue until today.

Yesterday’s floodings in Penang were the worst to hit the state since the major floods on Sept 15.

Going nowhere: A photo posted on the Penang Island City Council’s Facebook page showing a man on top of his submerged car in Relau.