GEORGE TOWN: A heavy downpour which began at 8pm on Thursday triggered flash flooding here, and forced the evacuation of 54 people from 15 families from their homes.
The evacuees, which include a baby, eight senior citizens, one disabled person and 19 children, were moved to the Jawi Multipurpose hall, here.
“The hall was opened at 3.45am and the families were settled in.
“We are monitoring the water level, and it appears (to be) receding (this morning),” State Environment committee chairman Phee Boon Poh told reporters, today.
Phee said 53.5mm of rainfall was recorded from 8pm to 8.47pm here; and that low-lying areas, including Jalan Sir Ibrahim, Jalan Van Pragh, Jalan Terengganu and Jalan P Ramlee, were submerged in 0.2 m of water.
“Water pumps at the affected areas have been activated,” he said, adding that the flooding was caused by a number of factors, including the heavy rainfall, the high tide, a lack of drainage capacity and the low-lying nature of the area.