10 Facts About the Flood in Penang You Probably Should Know

Last week, we experienced flash floods in certain parts of Singapore and this week, our neighbour, Malaysia, is the latest victim.

Comparing it to ours, theirs was much more serious.

The flood in Penang was so bad that the military had to get involved as people had to be evacuated.

Here are 10 facts about the flood that consumed Penang you should know.

18-hour cloudburst

On 5 Nov 2017, Penang experienced the worst deluge in living memory after an 18-hour storm, The Straits Times reported.

George Town got the most hit

According to The Straits Times, the capital of Penang—George Town roads were submerged and cars were left to drift in the flood.

Houses were filled with muddy brown water as water levels reached the rooftops (do note that the houses there were not high-rise buildings but normal one-storey houses, though).

Sherilyn Kang, a George Town Resident, told The Straits Times that her family was up all night working to rescue their belongings from 30cm-high floodwaters.

People had to be evacuated

The flood forced more than 3,500 people to be evacuated and with another 2,000 in neighbouring state, Kedah.

7 people died

As far, the flood has claimed 7 lives. Five of them have been identified whereas two victims are still unknown.

Military help was needed

The situation was so dire that Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng requested for help in a Facebook video post.

He thanked Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for speaking to him about the military assistance which was sent out

The floods caused a sinkhole and a ferry to wash ashore

One of the many impacts of the flood was a sinkhole that happened at Tanjung Bungah.

The pictures and video of the sinkhole went viral—looks like it was caused by an earthquake.

The winds were crazy strong…so strong that a ferry was washed ashore at Butterworth, Penang.

Trees collapsing

Channel NewsAsia mentioned that there were 75 reports of falling trees.

The police believe that one of the said unidentified victims was a Bangladeshi man who died when his home was destroyed by a falling tree.

Chaos at Penang International Airport

Silkair passengers were stuck at Penang Airport for 9 hours, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Three flights were unable to land—one flight from KLIA had to go back while the other two were diverted to Langkawi International Aiport, a neighbouring airport.

The cause

According to Channel NewsAsia, the Penang government said that the floods were due to the poor drainage system.

Chow Kon Yeow, Penang State Minister for Local Government, mentioned that the existing draining system couldn’t hold the huge flow of water during the heavy rain, equivalent to 1 ½ months of rain.

Current situation

As of Sunday evening, a total of 3,365 people have been placed in temporary shelters.

I am sure we visit Penang more often than our very own Singapore Zoo, so let’s do our part by donating to the Penang Storm and Flood Relief Fund. You can find more details here.

And for us, Singaporeans, let’s be prepared for a very wet month!

Since you’re here, why not watch a video about an NTU student who went all out to impress his crush, only to end up in…tragedy? Here, watch it and do remember to share it (and also subscribe to Goody Feed YouTube channel)!

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured image: CHINA PRESS (MALAYSIA)