Over 30 houses in Simpang Ampat inundated by flash flood

More than 30 houses in Kampung Sepulau and Kampung Balik Bukit in Simpang Ampat, here, were inundated by flash flood last night following heavy rain for over five hours since evening.

The rain which started about 5pm continued into the night, causing Sungai Junjung which is near the two villagers, to overflow.

The flood waters rose fast to almost half a metre in the low-lying areas, as such most of the villagers could not save their belongings.

However, no villagers were evacuated to any evacuation centre and the situation returned to normal by about 4am.

The villagers were today seen busy cleaning up their homes from the mud and debris left by the flash flood.

A flood victim, Afiqah Azhar, 25, said her grandmother's house in Kampung Sepulau started to be inundated about 10pm and the flood water rose so fast that they could not save the electrical appliances and other belongings.

"I live in Jawi but after the heavy rain, my family headed to my grandmother's house as we feared it could be flooded. Initally, it was okay but about 10pm, the river overflowed and water entered the house," she said.

Afiqah added that her grandmother's house was already hit by a flood flood last month following heavy rain.

Nur Erliza Mohd Zali, 32, a mother of two, said her rented single-storey terrace house was also flooded, forcing her family to evacuate to her mother's house in Bukit Mertajam before returning about 5am after the flood water had subsided.

"Many of our belongings were destroyed as we did not have time to remove them to higher places," she lamented.

Nur Erliza urged the state government to take immediate remedial measures to solve the flash flood problem in the area as this year alone, her house had been hit by flash floods more than five times during heavy rain.

Sekolah Menengah Agama Tasek Junjung, here, was also inundated by yesterday's flash flood up to waist high, but none of the students were affected as they had left the school hostel for the weekend to be with their families.

Meanwhile, in Kepala Batas, a family of five in Kampung Lahar Ikan Mati was evacuated at 9 last night after their house was under 0.6 metre of water following a downpour.

With the help of the Civil Defence Department, the family of Mohd Sharil Azlan Yusoff, 31, was moved to its office in Butterworth and allowed to return home at 7am today after the flood water had receded.

Kampung Lahar Ikan Mati is often hit by flash floods as it is in a low-lying area and near to Sungai Lahar Endin.

Seberang Perai Utara Drainage and Irrigation Department engineer, Saiful Rizan Sanusi said heavy rain at the rate of 70 millimetres per hour had caused Sungai Lahar Endin to overflow.

He said future road upgrading projects by the Public Works Department would take into consideration, the flash flood problem in Kampung Lahar Ikan Mati, Kampung Datuk and other villages nearby. -- Bernama