ALOR SETAR, Aug 19 – The flash floods in the towns of Gurun and Kedah here on Wednesday were not caused by any logging activities in the Forest Reserves of Gunung Jerai, said Menteri Besar of Kedah Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
Several towns in Kedah, including Sungai Petani and Merbok, were also affected by the flash floods brought on by heavy rains since Wednesday morning in the state.
As talks went viral in the social media that the flash floods were brought on by logging activities in the Gunung Jerai area, the MB said no logging activities were carried out in the area as they had been gazetted as protected forests.
The flash floods could have been caused by an overflow of rain water from the rivers of Gunung Jerai, Malay news portal Sinar Harian reported the MB as saying.
More than 10 villages at the foothills of Gunung Jerai and residential areas in Yan and Gurun were inundated with flood waters by Wednesday afternoon.
Four people were reported to have been dragged away by flood waters but three of them were later saved. One person is still missing.
Meanwhile Penang was also affected by torrential rain on Wednesday. Several areas in the island including Teluk Bahang, Bayan Lepas and Balik Pulau were filled up with flood waters by late afternoon. More than 500 families are said to have been affected.