The Malaysian army has been deployed in Penang after the small northern state was ravaged by more than 24-hours of nonstop rain and typhoon-like winds on Sunday.
At least 3,000 people had been evacuated from their homes after a massive rainstorm triggered the worst flooding the state has ever witnessed.
As of last night, the regional police had confirmed 7 deaths, which included Chew Eng Lean, 78, Amanullah Shabib Kalandir, 75, Lau Guek Jee, 64, Chong Sin Thon, 97, and Tan Ah Peow, 45. The two other victims have not had their names released by police.
The chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, warned in a Facebook statement on Sunday that people should stay at home due to rising floodwater. And as of Monday morning, the water levels remained to be at least one metre high in parts of the mainland, though the rain had let up early yesterday.
It was not long after the effects of the storm began to be felt by Malaysians that they took to social media under the hashtag #PrayForPenang to begin sharing photos of the damage.
After a stormy night in Penang – the morning after… – https://t.co/upQ7JXaKqj pic.twitter.com/xtjuAK7ksE
— Anil Netto (@anilnetto) November 5, 2017
Cars submerged beneath metres of murky, brown water and flooded main intersections in the capital of George Town (a world UNESCO site) gave people around the world a peek into the devastation that Penang is waking up to today.
Penang right now. Rain nonstop from morning till now. #PrayforPenang pic.twitter.com/lHA181DnXg
— SyedNa (@Sn_Trio) November 4, 2017
This is bad. Really bad. Btw this is Penang not Venice.
May God simplify everything. pic.twitter.com/A8aNvtz6xV— Syed Abdul Quddus (@QuddusAlkhred) November 5, 2017
For Penangites, the news does not appear to be lightening up for the next week. The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) issued a yellow alert today for Penang and surrounding areas. Yellow is categorised as a warning for continuous rains and heavy winds, which are expected to last for the next seven days.
