Cherok Tokun hill damaged

Two years ago on 4 Nov 2017, we wife and I were in Kuala Lumpur when we heard that a heavy rainfall in Penang had flooded several low-lying areas on the mainland. We were due to return home on the next day but on the train, we learnt that the flood situation in Penang was actually very extensive.

We were concerned that even though we could arrive back at the Bukit Mertajam train station, it would be almost impossible to get home if the flood waters were preventing taxis from picking us up. In fact, a taxi driver we called told us then that it would depend on whether he could drive into the train station. Luckily for us, he could and we reached home safe and sound.

Although our house in Taman Jernih was not affected by any flood water, the people in Taman Sri Rambai probably had it the worst. Flood waters had risen about four feet into their homes and all their furniture, electrical appliances and motor vehicles were all spoilt or severely damaged.

For about four weeks now, it has been raining very heavily in the afternoons in this part of the country. It was a big relief when the rains started coming in the last week of September to clear away the thick haze that had enveloped the peninsula.

But the rains have not stopped. Nice, clear, brilliant mornings would give way to dark clouds by mid-afternoon and more often than not, the day would end with a heavy deluge.

The rain yesterday evening was particularly heavy too. We had driven to the Wembley St Giles Hotel on the island for The Old Frees' Association annual dinner and initially, we weren't too aware that the rain was coming down hard.

But it did come down hard and word started filtering in gradually that the roads around Bukit Mertajam were almost impassable to traffic. Along the busy Jalan Song Ban Kheng, we heard that the residents of Taman Sri Rambai were starting to move their cars to the road shoulder in anticipation of rising flood waters.

I checked Google Maps and indeed, the roads leading to my neighbourhood were all marked in deep red. Possibly, traffic could already be at a standstill. If we wanted to go home, yes, it was still possible but it would have to be a long diversion south.

I continued checking the Map constantly to see whether traffic was moving again. By 11.30pm when we left the hotel, traffic looked almost back to normal. I therefore took the chance to drive home on my usual route, and it was quite all right.

This afternoon, I received some pictures showing the extensive damage to the Cherok Tokun hill in Bukit Mertajam.

Same like two years ago, the rushing flood waters had severely damaged the tarred road as well as the many tracks around the recreation park. The road surface were almost destroyed while thick mud coated the car park. Worse, water was still gushing down the hill. This was also a repeat of 2017, coming some two years later.

From this point on, I think I shall let the pictures do the talking. They were taken this afternoon at the Cherok Tokun hill.