Breaking through: Waves splashing from under a bridge at Lim Jetty in George Town due to high tide. — KT GOH/The Star
KLANG: Fishermen along the coast had to take a break in anticipation of the high tide bringing hazardous waves. But they were relieved when the latest occurrence passed without any incident.
Those living in coastal areas in Penang also expressed relief when the high tide caused minimal trouble or damage.
In George Town, families staying at the clan jetties along Weld Quay escaped with just a flash flood at about 1pm yesterday, as the wind was not strong enough to stir up the waves.
The sea water gradually subsided an hour later.
Cindy Tan, 62, who has lived in Lim Jetty for 40 years, said flooding during high tide was previously unheard of.
“It only started in the past two years. I have placed waterproof mats on the floor of my house to prevent the water from splashing from beneath.
“Luckily, there was no strong wind that could have caused big waves,” she said.
A hawker who identified himself as Cheong, 45, said many of his customers were puzzled as to why his place was flooded despite the absence of rain in the morning.
“I told them it was due to the unusually high tide and sea water overflowing into land. Luckily, my furniture and appliances were spared,” he said.
Tourists visiting the jetties, including the popular Chew Jetty, watched in awe as the sea water reached the wooden walkways and temporarily flooded the parking lots and eateries.
At the nearby Esplanade, seawater also surged onto the lower terrace of the seawall, a section designed to be submerged during high tide.
However, there were no big waves pounding against the seawall this time.
Last September, a devastating combination of strong winds and unusually high tides at noon caused waves to slam into the Medan Renong food court at the Esplanade, prompting customers to seek shelter and traders to scramble to save their wares.
The waves also damaged the wooden walkways and floors of homes at the clan jetties in Weld Quay.
Over on the mainland, several restaurants along the coast in Pantai Bersih, Butterworth, suffered major damage to their walls and floors.
Last Sunday, a supermoon occurred as the moon reached perigee, its closest point to Earth, making it appear about 10% nearer than usual.
Unlike typical supermoons, this one coincided with the new moon phase, making it invisible to the human eye.
During this phase, the moon’s heightened gravitational pull intensifies tidal conditions.
This results in levels that are higher than usual and increases the risk of coastal flooding in low-lying areas.
The next high tide is scheduled to occur in early October and November.
In SELANGOR, the high tide at 6.03am and 6.22pm yesterday passed without incident.
Pulau Ketam village chief Chua Kim Lin said choppy sea conditions would make it unsafe for deep-sea fishing.
“Only the smaller vessels that operate in shallow waters can go out now.
“The rest of us will have to wait until the sea calms down,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Chua anticipated the break to last only three to five days, calling it a usual occurrence for island residents and fishermen.
He also noted that some stilt houses on the island experienced minor flooding when the morning high tide hit.
“The water receded quickly in about an hour,” he said, adding that villagers were accustomed to such situations.
He said the impact on the villagers is minimal as long as the high tide does not coincide with continuous rain.
Port Klang fire station chief Haikal Janny said it was a regular day at Port Klang.
“There was no flooding or anything associated with an inflow of sea water due to high tide.”
In previous high-tide phenomena, sea water would overflow the banks and creep more than 500m inland, causing floods.
“Water did not rise and overflow onto our streets as it does during major high-tide occurrences,” said a Pulau Ketam restaurant operator, who wished to be known only as Chua, yesterday.
The owner of a cruise boat company located in Port Klang, Chua Yi Wei, said the only sign of a high tide was slightly choppy waters.
“Generally, when flooding occurred as a result of high tide in the past, the waves were a lot larger and the sea was choppy.”
She added that only those familiar with the sea were able to note the change in wave pattern yesterday.
