THE Seberang Prai Utara (SPU) district is the worst hit by floods in Penang, following strong winds and heavy rains since 2pm yesterday, said a senior state police officer.

State Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department chief Mohamad Anil Shah Abdullah said 2,588 flood victims in the district had been evacuated to 19 temporary flood relief centres as of 1pm today.

“The Seberang Prai Tengah (SPT), Seberang Prai Selatan (SPS), Timur Laut and Barat Daya districts also experienced flooding, but the conditions in the four districts are not as bad as in SPU.

“Currently, there are 291 flood victims at the temporary flood relief centres in Timur Laut, 379 in Barat Daya, 500 in SPT and 25 in SPS,” he said in Kepala Batas.

He said 1,200 police officers were on 24-hour duty since yesterday and that their leave had been frozen to ensure smooth rescue and relief operations.

Anil Shah said police were using all available means, and had obtained the use of lorries, boats and land rovers from neighbouring contingents, to meet needs in Penang.

After obtaining information on bad weather conditions, he said, police immediately took measures to work with government agencies to assist, rescue and relocate flood victims.

He said it was the priority of the force to ensure victims were rescued quickly and evacuated to safe locations, and to control traffic to prevent congestion.

“The public, especially flood victims, don’t have to worry because we have stationed policemen at temporary flood relief centres and are conducting regular patrols in the affected areas to prevent crimes from happening.”

He advised people not to panic and to comply with police’s directives.

“Residents whose houses are inundated with floodwaters must call police so that we can evacuate them.

“Police have also opened a 24-hour operation room in the five affected districts to help victims.”

Currently, Anil Shah said, several routes were still closed to traffic after water levels rose to 0.5m, including on the island, namely Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Patani, Jalan Perak, Lebuh Kampung Jawa and Jalan Mahsuri.

He said the roads closed in SPU were Jalan Paku Lima, Jalan Kampung Perlis, Jalan Bertam Perdana, Jalan Bertam Indah and Jalan Jelawat.

“Several other routes are also closed due to landslides and fallen trees, including on the island, namely Jalan Tun Sardon-Balik Pulau, Jalan Bukit Jambul, Jalan Sungai Pinang-Titi Kerawang and Jalan Assumption in Butterworth.”

Almost the whole of Penang was flooded and dozens of trees were toppled. The rains dragged on until 5am today. – Bernama, November 5, 2017.