GEORGE TOWN: The floods have worsened in Kedah, with three additional districts evacuating people to relief centres following heavy rain since Thursday night.
A spokesman at the police flood relief operations centre in Alor Setar said the number of evacuees had risen from 88 on Thursday to 441 people from 105 families.
The three districts are Kubang Pasu, Bandar Baru and Baling. The other district affected by floods is Kota Setar which has 88 people staying at relief centres.
The district with the highest number of evacuees was Kubang Pasu with 223 people.
Another 122 people were evacuated from Bandar Baru and eight in Baling.
In Butterworth, state Drainage and Irrigation Department director Hanapi Mohamad Noor said the delay in opening a floodgate in Padang Cempedak, Tasek Gelugor, is not the main cause of Tuesday’s floods in Tasek Gelugor,
“The floods were caused by heavy rainfall in Kedah, which could have flowed downstream into North Seberang Prai.
“Even if the floodgate was opened an hour earlier, flooding would have still taken place as there was rapid water flow from the upstream of Sungai Jarak.
“We would have merely delayed the time of the floods to hit the villages,” he said in an interview yesterday.
On Tuesday, 59 families sought shelter in flood relief centres in Kampung Desa Puri and Kampung Paya Tok Akil, Tasek Gelugor, after their houses were inundated in waist-deep water.
On Thursday, state Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environ- ment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said that he would investigate claims that there was a delay in opening a floodgate that could have aggravated the flooding situation in the area.
On rainy days, Hanapi said, the floodgate would usually be opened if the rainfall increased by 15cm per hour as it was an indication that floods might occur.
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