Flash floods hit Kedah and Penang

ALOR SETAR: Continuous rain for a few hours caused several low lying areas in the northern states to be flooded on Friday (Feb 3).

In Bandar Baru, heavy rain since 4pm caused at least 15 houses in several villages to be flooded with water.

A Kedah Civil Defence Force (APM) spokesman said among the worst affected areas were Kampung 300 Kaki, Kampung Paya Semambung, Kampung Kilang Batu in Mukim Relau and Kampung Tengah and Kampung Sungai Kecik Hilir in Mukim Serdang.

He said three families had to be evacuated to a temporary relief centre (PPS) after their houses were hit by floods.

He said personnel were deployed to monitor the water level at the river and helped affected villagers to move their belongings to a higher place.

The spokesman also advised villagers to be more careful if the rain continues and the water level of the river increases.

He said several roads in the affected areas were also disconnected. In Yan, few houses in Kampung Ruat were flooded after two hours of rain.

However the water level at the nearby river was still under control.

"Our officers and personnel are on standby should anything happen," said an APM spokesman.

In Penang, three areas in South Seberang Prai were hit by flash floods at Jalan Sungai Baong, Jalan Sungai Duri and Relau in Sungai Bakap.

However, no victims have been evacuated so far.

A state Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the department received a distress call from the public about the floods around 4.50pm.

"A total of 15 firemen from the Sungai Bakap fire station and Fire and Rescue Department headquarters in Batu Kawan were dispatched to the scene to monitor the areas," said the spokesman.

He said the flash floods were due to the heavy rain and had caused several houses in the affected areas to be inundated with water level as high as 2m.

He said although the rain had subsided, the firemen on duty were still monitoring the areas.

Meanwhile, a couple of video clips showed several roads in Bertam Kepala Batas were flooded after heavy rain for nearly two hours since 3pm.

A 15-second video showed a road in Bandar Putra Bertam where the drain alongside the road was overflowed with water.

Another video clip showed the front porch of a house was flooded up to the ankle.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), in a statement, said it expected rain in the whole country including thunderstorms in several areas.

It said wet weather was expected in one or two areas in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, east Johor and Sabah covering Kudat and Sandakan.

In the evening, rain is forecast in several areas in Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Sarawak while heavy rain or thunderstorms were expected in one or two locations in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Sabah.

MetMalaysia said rain was also expected at night in Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Pahang, Sarawak (Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Kapit, Miri and Limbang) and Sabah (west coast and interiors) as well as Labuan. - Star