Flash floods in Butterworth
Flash floods following four hours of continuous rain forced 14 families in Kampung Mengkuang Titi, Bukit Mertajam to be evacuated to a temporary relief centre.
Heavy rains from 3am Wednesday caused the nearby Sungai Kulim to burst its banks, sending the 70-odd residents scurrying to salvage their belongings.
Resident Zakaria Ahmad, 32, said he jumped out of bed and started moving some of his electrical appliances to higher ground. ‘‘Two hours of continuous rain is all it takes for floods to hit our houses, which are near a monsoon drain,” he said at his home.
Another resident Mariam Awang, 65, said flash floods have been a problem here for 30 years.
‘‘I am getting tired of cleaning my house after it floods. I hope the authorities would upgrade the drainage system in the area,’’ she said.
Flash floods also hit Taman Bunga Raya, Siram Road, Sin Tatt Garden, Taman Meranti, Taman Ceri, Kampung Paya, Taman Teratai and Taman Aman in Butterworth.
State Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh, who visited the affected areas, said the Seberang Prai Municipal Council had a special squad which was deployed to clear some of the clogged drains.
The council’s cleaning contractors are partly to be blamed for not regularly cleaning the drains, he claimed. “People should stop turning drains into garbage bins,” he said.
Phee said the frequent flash floods in Butterworth, especially in the last three weeks, was partly due to the weekly release of excess water from the Muda Dam in Kedah into the nearby Sungai Muda in Seberang Prai, which has arteries flowing into the areas here.
He said he recently spoke to his counterpart in Kedah to avoid releasing the water downstream especially during the rainy season - Agencies.
Heavy rains from 3am Wednesday caused the nearby Sungai Kulim to burst its banks, sending the 70-odd residents scurrying to salvage their belongings.
Resident Zakaria Ahmad, 32, said he jumped out of bed and started moving some of his electrical appliances to higher ground. ‘‘Two hours of continuous rain is all it takes for floods to hit our houses, which are near a monsoon drain,” he said at his home.
Another resident Mariam Awang, 65, said flash floods have been a problem here for 30 years.
‘‘I am getting tired of cleaning my house after it floods. I hope the authorities would upgrade the drainage system in the area,’’ she said.
Flash floods also hit Taman Bunga Raya, Siram Road, Sin Tatt Garden, Taman Meranti, Taman Ceri, Kampung Paya, Taman Teratai and Taman Aman in Butterworth.
State Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh, who visited the affected areas, said the Seberang Prai Municipal Council had a special squad which was deployed to clear some of the clogged drains.
The council’s cleaning contractors are partly to be blamed for not regularly cleaning the drains, he claimed. “People should stop turning drains into garbage bins,” he said.
Phee said the frequent flash floods in Butterworth, especially in the last three weeks, was partly due to the weekly release of excess water from the Muda Dam in Kedah into the nearby Sungai Muda in Seberang Prai, which has arteries flowing into the areas here.
He said he recently spoke to his counterpart in Kedah to avoid releasing the water downstream especially during the rainy season - Agencies.
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