Uprooted tree tragedy and flooded eateries: a stormy day with no warning?

GEORGE TOWN – Last Wednesday, Penang was hit with heavy rain and strong winds, accompanied by high waves flooding its shores. Several stalls were affected as seawater inundated the premises. 

Social media posts further showed the worsening weather with numerous reports of tree uprooting and viral incidents of restaurants’ roofs being blown off by strong winds, as well as the floor of an eatery collapsing.

In one fatal case, two tourists from China were killed when the MPV they were in was crushed by an uprooted tree at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion in Lebuh Gereja, George Town. Several people were also reported to be injured in Kedah and Sabah due to similar reasons.

However, checks on the Meteorological Department’s (MetMalaysia) Facebook page on that day found no hourly thunderstorm warnings issued for Penang.

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Responding to Scoop, the department’s director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said this was because a continuous rainfall warning had already been issued five days before.

“Thunderstorm warnings were not issued for Perlis, Kedah, Penang and northern Perak (on Wednesday, September 18) as a ‘Yellow Level’ (alert) continuous rainfall warning issued on September 13 was still in effect until September 19. 

“According to the department’s standard operating procedures (SOP), thunderstorm warnings will not be issued if earlier warning(s) are still in effect unless there are changes,” Hisham said in a written response to Scoop. 

On September 16, MetMalaysia also issued Penang, Kedah, Perlis, northern Perak, with a Category 1 strong wind and rough sea warning, effective until today, September 21.

When asked whether the given category accurately described the strong winds in Penang, Hisham explained that it was accurate as winds were expected to reach the speed of up to 50km per hour and waves were expected to reach a height of 3.5m-high.

“A wind at such speed can uproot trees and damage weak structures,” he added in a written response to Scoop.

The department head also defended its weather forecast methodologies in issuing an “Alert Level” warning for Penang, Kedah, and Perlis, despite the severity of downpours and thunderstorms there. 

The alert was also issued two days in advance on September 13, for the period of September 15 to 19, he highlighted.

“MetMalaysia has detected the possibility of bad weather hitting the northern peninsula and issued continuous heavy rainfall warning on September 13 for Perlis, Kedah, Penang and northern Perak, effective September 15 until September 19…

“…(the warning was posted) on MetMalaysia’s website, social media platforms, and myCuaca mobile application, as well as disseminated to the National Disaster Management Agency and the public,” he added. 

Hisham explained that MetMalaysia utilises the same forecast methods and technology used by other countries, namely the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The model uses data from a network of automatic surface weather stations, weather radar networks, earth satellite receiving stations, and upper air stations. 

He also added that the department would improve its entire weather forecasting methods and infrastructure in the future to better serve the public, especially those who were previously unaware.

According to Bernama, the number of flood evacuees in Kedah is 7,494 people as of 8am today, up from 6,760 people at 8pm last night.

Meanwhile, in Penang, the number decreased to 259 people who were still housed in the state’s flood relief shelters as of 7.18am today compared to 427 people last night.

Penang Chief Minister said yesterday that with the weather in the state improving significantly, evacuees are expected to return to their homes in the coming days. – September 21, 2024