The Great Alor Setar Flood 2010

Over the past two weeks, we watched in dismay at the flooding in Alor Setar, the town where I grew up. My parents were there for a wedding and had stayed with their friends.

On the day my parents left to return to KL, they noticed the quick swelling of the rivers and drains. Thank God they were traveling back that day because in less than 24 hours, murky waters had started to flood the streets. In the next few days, fields and roads were submerged and I believe about 4 lives were lost as kids were dragged into the currents.

View from the house my parents stayed in Alor Setar.

My parents hosts who remained in good spirits in spite of the situation.
Here they are standing in front of their newly purchased home.

The strange thing was, there wasn’t that much of a torrential rain. The skies were clear as the floodwaters rose. So what was the cause of it? I have gleaned off the net so far is that Haadyai, Thailand released water from their dam. First thought that came into mind is, if Thailand wants to attack Malaysia, all they have to do is open their floodgates and render us helpless?

Deputy Home Minister Dato Chor Chee Heung's home in Alor Setar.

Photos and videos were uploaded on Facebook to show the severity of the situation throughout the disaster. Our friends had to evacuate their homes, roads that were once familiar turned into muddy rivers, the pisang goreng stall we used to buy from was afloat.

The lonely pisang goreng stall in Taman Golf.

The flood has now receded but there has been further talk that Haadyai would release their dam again.

All in all, I’m just glad our friends in Alor Setar are now safely back in their homes, tired they may be from vigorously scrubbing off the filth and grime, the effects of teh tarik waters.

Photos taken by Loh Lee Fun and Josephine Kong and published with permission.