PENANG is looking into whether it can get bad weather alerts from more reliable outside forecasters.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Air Putih) said the Penang Green Council would study whether the state could establish its own early warning system for bad weather.

He said the state needed a system that “we can trust”.

“We will see if we can take reports from overseas weather forecasters, as the ones here are not giving us accurate forecasts.

“Now, we have to be more alert when there are no alerts,” he said in his winding-up speech at the state legislative assembly today.

On November 4, when an extraordinarily heavy downpour that caused massive floods in Penang began, the Meteorological Department sent out a red alert, warning of very heavy rain, only at 9.30pm.

At the time, some parts of the state were already flooded.

Last week, there were two red alerts issued, but there was no heavy rain.

“The forecast for today said no rain, but now, it is raining in Paya Terubong,” said Lim.

The record rainfall and strong winds on November 4 and 5 caused flash floods and landslides, and uprooted trees in Penang.

The floods were the state’s worst in 30 years, resulting in more than 12,500 people being evacuated from their homes.

The state is now in the final stages of post-flood cleanup, which the authorities expect to wrap up within this week.

“After 10 days, Penang has bounced back. The island is almost completely cleaned up, while the mainland is 80% done,” said Lim, who praised local councils and local government exco Chow Kon Yeow for their hard work. – November 14, 2017.