TWO more bodies, believed to be those of flood victims, were found today, bringing the death toll in the Penang disaster to seven.

Timur Laut district police chief Assistant Commissioner Anuar Omar confirmed that five of the victims were Malaysians.

He said they were Tan Ah Peow, 45, and Chong Sin Thon, 79, from Ayer Itam; Amanullah Shahib Kalandir, 75, who was found drowned at a house in Jalan Perak, George Town; Lau Guek Jee, 64, from Jalan P. Ramlee; and Chew Eng Lean, 78, from Taman Free School.

The sixth victim, a Bangladeshi, was reportedly killed by a falling tree.

Anuar said the seventh victim was found near Stadium Bandaraya Pulau Pinang in Jalan Dato Keramat.

As of 8pm, 3,573 people across the state’s five districts had been evacuated, with 511 from the island and the rest from the mainland.

Almost the whole of Penang was hit by flash floods and scores of trees were uprooted following heavy rains and fierce winds that began at 2pm yesterday and lasted until 5am today.

Seberang Prai Utara was reported to be the worst hit, with police saying 1,200 officers had been put on 24-hour duty to ensure smooth relief and rescue operations.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state would review its standard operating procedure for flood relief to have better coordination between state and federal agencies.

He said the state did not have sufficient resources, equipment or manpower to help the thousands of people affected by the floods.

“In our desperation, I had to call (Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) three times,” said Lim, recounting how he reached out to the deputy prime minister to request assistance around 3.30am today.

“He agreed to send help immediately. Earlier this morning, he called me to give his guarantee that help will continue to come to aid Penang’s flood relief efforts.”

Zahid, who was in Kuching today, ordered the National Security Council to coordinate with police and the military to aid Penang after speaking with Lim via phone.

Selangor and Johor, too, have come forward to help Penang recover from what has been called the worst flooding in the state’s history.

Meanwhile, in Kedah, 2,721 people were forced to evacuate their homes due to floods as of 8pm.

They were reportedly seeking shelter at 39 relief centres. – November 5, 2017.