GEORGE TOWN – The start of the monsoon transition season was the reason behind uprooted trees and torn rooftops in Seberang Prai Utara on the mainland, as well as the southwest and northeast districts of the island.
State Housing and Local Government and Town Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said workers from Penang Island City Council (MBPP) were deployed to the 25 areas to clear the fallen trees, and to assist families affected by the storm.
He said the storm – which hit the areas from around 5pm to 6pm – had caused tremendous amounts of damage, with wind speeds of around 68km/h that uprooted trees, blew off rooftops and caused broken branches to be littered across various locales in Relau and Bayan Baru.
“The monsoon transition period usually begins in March and goes through May, but global warming and climate change have contributed to the erratic weather conditions,” he said.
The Datok Keramat Assemblyman told reporters after visiting Taman Manggis Flats at Jalan Zainal Abidin today that police, civil defence, the Fire and Rescue Department, and Rela members had joined the save and rescue operations.
Also present was MBPP secretary A. Rajindran, who said that the city council had conducted periodic tree maintenance for 37,000 trees, adding that from January until today, it has maintained 3,000 trees in a bid to reduce fallen trees and broken branches problems.
The Malaysian Meteorology Department has warned Penang that similar weather conditions will continue until 9pm tonight.
Its station in Butterworth has recorded 819.4mm rainfall, while the Prai station recorded 8.4mm and Bayan Lepas recorded 4.8mm rainfall. – The Vibes, February 9, 2022
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