Penang was hit by a continuous heavy downpour recently, lasting some fifteen hours, causing landslides, uprooting trees, damaging houses and paralysing many areas.

The catastrophic event affected some 6,200 people or 1,720 families, who had to be placed in some 40 flood relief centres around the state.

Although the flood this time around was one of the worst, for Penangites, dealing with floods is nothing new.

My grandpa’s house in Jalan P Ramlee is one of the areas prone to flooding in Penang. Since we were young, we have had to endure enormous floods every time the rainy season made its appearance.

I remember getting calls from my grandpa back in the 80s, requesting a helping hand every time it rained heavily. My uncles and my dad would help grandpa scurry around the house moving furniture and electrical appliances to the second floor of the house before the first floor was submerged in water.

Having Sungai Pinang, one of the dirtiest rivers in the country, not too far from the house did more harm. Garbage piling up in the river would flow into the house, bringing along a great stench.

As a child, I used to help my grandpa, uncles and aunties, alongside my cousins, clean the house after a flood had subsided.

It used to be one of the busiest times for us as there was so much to be done – slimy mud and icky-gooey stuff to be scrubbed away; furniture to be brought down; mattresses and pillows to be dried; pots and pans to be washed; curtains and other damaged items to be disposed of.  

But the incident which took place donkey’s years ago wasn’t a one-off affair, for every year during the rainy season, my grandpa’s house continued to be submerged in water. And every year, we got better and better in dealing with the floods – so much so that we became experts in welcoming the floods during any rainy season.

An annual flood fiesta

In the mid-1990s, my grandpa passed away at the age of 95. However, the flood woes continued.

When the state government finally changed in 2008, Penang became cleaner and Sungai Pinang no longer looked like a pile of garbage. However, more land was reclaimed, hills flattened, buildings sprouted, new neighbourhoods bloomed and traffic worsened.

Despite the improvements brought about by the new state government, the flood fiesta remained an annual affair. And my grandpa’s house, which at one time stood tall and magnificent, began to shake and look drab.

At the time, my uncle who was almost 80 and residing at grandpa’s old house, continued to call us, seeking assistance every time it rained – just like how my grandpa used to. And as usual, the entire family would take part in the shifting and cleaning.

However, after a while, everyone got really tired of it. It wasn’t like things were going to change anytime soon anyway.

Soon, discussions began to take place on the practicality of holding on to our heritage in the heart of Jalan P Ramlee. Everyone agreed to let it go for one common reason. The floods.

Today, the green house at 9A Jalan P Ramlee, which once was our heritage, no longer belongs to the family.

However, with the recent storm, I was intrigued to find out how my grandpa’s old house was doing.

And just as expected, Jalan P Ramlee was among the areas mentioned in the media as being badly affected by the heavy downpour – no surprise there.

Taking matters into our own hands

I must admit, seeing Jalan P Ramlee on the list made me very angry.

Seriously, after all these years of knowing how certain areas in Penang could be badly affected by heavy rain, why hasn’t anything been done to prevent the problem from occurring or at least reduce its effects?

Incidentally, I took a stroll around my own neighbourhood in Penang two days after the 15 hours of rain had subsided.

I spoke to my neighbours who had already cleaned their homes and scrubbed off mud from their porch. Some were planning to build barriers and some wanted to widen the drains around their houses. Many were making plans to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

When ordinary people are taking matters into their own hands to ensure their own safety, and the safety of their family and belongings, it makes me wonder what measures are being taken by the state government to protect the people and their belongings?

This actually makes me question, what has been done every time Penang gets submerged in water?

I realise a natural disaster is a natural disaster - be it a heavy downpour or a typhoon - and nothing we do can prevent it. But pray tell me, can we not mitigate its effects?

If the answer is yes, why then have we not done so?

For God’s sake, do it now before someone else sacrifices their heritage due to the floods as I and my family have done.

Please do not make us pray for Penang forever.

FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.