A strong windstorm caused havoc in Penang this evening as trees were uprooted and a tower structure fell off the top of the state Umno building. Has Penang just received its first taste of climate change?
Consider this an early warning of climate change. For far too long, climate change has not been at the forefront of the national agenda, and it wasn’t even an election issue. Somehow we think we are immune while we blissfully continue to disregard the effects of our unsustainable model of development.
Take a good look at this photo and see in this a sign of things to come.
https://twitter.com/cmlimguaneng/status/345147344163074048/ph
Someone also needs to check who was responsible for maintaining the roof-top structure, instead of brushing this off as an act of God.
Strong winds swept across the state this evening as rain fell while fallen leaves danced in the air. The scene was absolutely surreal. Off the coast near the Esplanade, angry, menacing waves crashed against the coastal embankment.
Blog reader Desmond reports:
1) Crazy rain with very strong wind just happened. 6.20pm to 6.45pm. My area Tanjung Tokong just saw personally two houses roofs being ripped off their zinc covering below my apartment at the Ivory project area in Fettes Park.
2) Last two days, morning workers heading to work from 8.00am onwards, travelling to Bayan Baru from Jelutong Highway or Gelugor road to Bayan Baru… crawling and heavy jam… Why..? Any one knows…?
I noticed a tree along Weld Quay had fallen down near the GPO, covering half the road. On the mainland, a tree had fallen down on the main Bagan Luar Road near the Standard Chartered Bank and the entire road was closed.
In Bagan Ajam in Butterworth, the roofs of sheds near Taman Tun Dr Awang were blown off as a pasar malam was called off.
On the channel, ferries swayed from side to side, even after the winds had subsided.
Our hearts go out to those who perished in this storm.
Takziah kpd klrga Jahir Hussain Sulaiman yg dihempas oleh menara besi ibupejbt UMNO Pg dan Wong Tze Chow ditimpa oleh pokok kat Dam Air Itam
— Lim Guan Eng (@cmlimguaneng) June 13, 2013
And we still want to clear-cut our hill-land for property development above 76 metres?
tunglang reminds us of what some people have done in the name of ‘development’ and what we have lost:
Chin Farm@Batu Ferringhi with multiple waterfalls & cool water rivers was among the first victims of ‘privatized’ public recreation access. The beach @ Jubilee Camp, Teluk Bahang almost suffered similar fate. Next could be Muka Head beach with an emerald cove. (Some developer) may want to turn it into an exclusive billionaires’ hideaway by the sea from prying eyes.
Soon there will be no beaches, no hill tracks, no jungles, no clear water rivers, not even monkeys for Penangites to enjoy.
Trespassers Warning Sign: No Money, No Walk Here.
How greedy can some people get?
Well, Nature is making its presence felt.
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Anil, haze today…unable sight HAARP activity…worry
Anil, Wednesday evening Haarp clouds similiar to last Thursday. See how today.
Chin Farm was once an everybody’s favourite haunt, day & night! You got to take a refreshing bath (after a swim in the salty sea) from a crystal clear jungle stream opposite the Teluk Bahang beach just across the road. I just loved the afternoon clear blue sky framed by swaying green coconut trees & the sunset horizon punctuated by surreal lighthouse beam…deep…poetic…groovy…
I hear you man!
I dig that Chin Farm was mentioned by Tunglang. So when can we get back our waterfall like the good old days. This is Nature’s Theme Park at FOC. Not some man-made-corporate-related-artifical-nature-resort-wannabe that charges money. Peace to all and P…-off to those in cahoots with money-making-greedy-capitalistic muthas.
Penang’s Nature wonders are dwindling/disappearing year by year. What used to be an open access concept of park (your vehicles), enjoy & freshen up is but a rare privilege of yesteryears. Chin Farm was once an everybody’s favourite haunt, day & night! Jubilee Camp was another favourite of Penangites. You got to take a refreshing bath (after a swim in the salty sea) from a crystal clear jungle stream opposite the Teluk Bahang beach just across the road. I just loved the afternoon clear blue sky framed by swaying green coconut trees & the sunset horizon punctuated by surreal lighthouse… Read more »
Anil, haarp clouds today. Let’s observe later evening.
TR HAMSAP & KENYANG
question…Umno HQ built before plan approval, claims MP…from Malaysiakini
Anil, Penang tasted Haarp last Thursday evening. Haarp clouds was seen all over Penang since Februrary 2013. On 4th and 5thJune was circular rainbow sighted over Penang until about 12pm it dissappeares. We still hve Haarp focus at us until today. I was expecting fish would float and die from Haarp as what Iran has been facing. Butit came form of MiniTornado last week. Majority Malaysians ignorant of Haarp its worldwide facilities and consequences. Oklahoma Tornado was result of Haarp also many disasters past years all over the world caused by Haarp. Also our Penanv sky has been sprayed by… Read more »
questions…was the concrete spire even necessary…should the lightning arrestor have been fixed to the big parapet wall behind the spire…why ia a multi storey building built so close to the road…shlould there have been a podium to set back the tower block…was it an act of nature or a fault of design
If one study carefully the prewar houses in inner city George Town, one can often notice a tiny one foot ‘Y’ shape wire jutting above the upper roof line. It is no more than 1 centimetre thick as an effective yet economically simple lightning rod.
Isn’t it cheaper & safer to install than a humongous lightning arrester of concrete & steel?
But here (in Penang Island) we have a Cosmopolitan Penang concept gullibly trying hard to mirror others’ cosmopolitan excesses without much consideration for the socio-economic realities & environment vulnerability. Questionable special projects benefiting the interest of a few richie going counter to “A Cleaner, Greener Penang” concept in great publicity blitz left us standing in mud wondering what double talk is echoing from Komtar Tower.
We heard the talk: Whoever breaks the law will face the law.
Does it include of whoever approved the hill projects in question?
Penang wanna be like Global City ?
Just go New York and see they have a bog Central Park even Donald Trump dare not develop a concrete jungle there !
WHY not turn relau hill top a scout heaven of open green lung ? ESCAPE at RM48 not every family can afford now that barang naik naik naik lagi !
The Big Question: Should we turn Penang into a ‘liveable place’ for (all strata of) Penangites or should we transform Penang into a global cosmopolitan for the rich & famous (eventually)? Anil, please pose this question for us to ponder introspectively. ESCAPE is just an added tourist attraction but the entrance price is way beyond the average Penangite families to enjoy at the expense/sacrifice of our water catchment natural asset. Who benefits the most besides creating some jobs? Creating a public nature adventure park like Sedim (Kedah) with free access for camping, trekking & a good afternoon picnic is much… Read more »
Thanks, Anil, for driving home the point. Anthropocentricity is what leads humans to worship the bogus gods of “Progress & Development” which only benefit a very tiny handful while bringing massive ruin to the natural environment & endless suffering to everybody else.
From where I am, the Boroughs or Local Councils are responsible for the upkeep of trees on public streets and inversely the safety (and liability) the trees pose to the general public. Likewise, if such uprooting or trees crashing onto road users or pedestrians, the Council gets sued. Period checks are carried out to ensure safety and health of these trees. We want trees we need to care and give due attention to them. We cannot have all and everything. But when disasters happen, we then say “act of God” ! All parties need to adopt a balance. All living… Read more »
Is there any statistics on how many trees fell in Penang yesterday? Normally it is big news even if a couple fall. One traveller saw 14 fallen trees from Air Itam to Tg Tokong. The whole Penang might have 3-5 times more, or 50-100 trees fallen? What are the species? Are they mostly angsana? If so, is it because angsanas are more vulnerable, or are they just more numerous and older? It got me to think that MPPP has done a pretty good job trimming the trees in the past 2 months. Or there would be more mishaps. One tree… Read more »
EXCELLENT observation saengch !!
I thought of the same thing too.. and MPPP did a good job trimming lots of trees in recent weeks. I’m sure this would have prevented these same trees from falling down.
And there MANY trees down.. hopefully someone from MPPP can keep count of them..
I hope the MPPP does that. And replace the fallen trees incorporating better planting techniques. Like you say, the water-logged condition of the soil totally contributed to the problem. MPPP or JKR (whoever is in charge of the trees in their area) should take note of this and look for ways to improve. Better drainage may not only prevent flash floods but may also help reduce the retention of water on our soil.
Another point is MPPP did recently remove many large, insecure, and illegal advertising boards. That was also a very good move in this hindsight. I saw at least 2 well-secured sign blown down or tilted – imagine what would happen to the large insecure ones. Still, MPPP needs to learn from this. The water drainage and soil things, however, sounds like it requires some sort of deeper, long-term technical study and coordination among government bodies. We can only have that if MPPP — probably in association with the botanical garden — and JKR are encouraged to be run professionally. Political… Read more »
WELL SAID saengch !! It’s a time for both MPPP & JKR to work together, especially in the immediate task to clear any hanging or leftover branches or stumps. Nevertheless, understanding the “way & style” both agencies work may also help curb our expectations. MPPP have readily their own Landscape crew who would be adept at clearing branches.. and I believe they also have some contract workers to help them out in the manual tasks. As for JKR, sometimes works like tree-cutting are “tendered” out which at worse, will take time. Even if they have their own tree-cutting crews, their… Read more »
You are right Soon Yew. If you drive around often enough you see that for such work there 8-12 workers. 2 will be doing work, 3 will be there to teach them, another 3 will be supervising,2 will be observing to learn, 2 more will be supervising and sometimes two will guide traffic. I won’t place the blame solely on JKR because I have seen this happen across all govt depts in Malaysia, whether state or federal. This lazy and unproductive culture has to stop if we want to progress. Where response to complaints are concerned however, I must say… Read more »
Hi everyone,
There is an URGENCY now to check all roof-top installations, especially on high rise buildings, as the weather forecast is that Pg and other neighbouring states are going to face such powerful storms until September! PREVENTION is better than CURE!
Isn’t there a rumour that UMNO’s antenna was made to be tall for some fengshui reason, as it aligns straight geographically with some other landmarks? Now that the antenna is down …
The concept of Climate Change is a hoax foisted on the people of the world to bring about the carbon tax! What happened here was probably a result of HAARP – a weapon of mass-destruction used by the cabal to create chaos. Remember the Medan tsunami that happened on one Boxing Day many years back? Currently there’s a war going on unseen by most that will ultimately result in a change of the world’s financial system and the cabal (the unseen unelected few rulers of the world) who is controlling it is doing their damnest to prevent it from happening.… Read more »
God will punish those who do evil. How did the antenae fell down? Has it been securely fixed to the building to withstand such nature onslaught? Was it properly inspected before it was certified safe? or is it put up according to safety standards?
I see this as a bad omen for Umno Penang.
Have we understood the message, loud, clear & with some devastation & a death?
Even the medium itself (antenna) couldn’t take the delivery.
But the men in the street suffer the consequence of unsustainable development greed.
Komtar Tower antennas should be the next delivery point for Nature’s warning of red line.
Cheers Kopi-O kau kau to Nature’s “don’t play, play”.
tunglang
with mother nature in anger all over the world now (eg flood in Europe) and samsengs robbing street foodies i think many will stay out of open air makan spots for fear of being hurt !
BTW, how come no more food comments ? At least you are not at Madras lane now (havoc scene last nite) better still be at Belum nature ????
Just ‘visited’ my old childhood playground – Madras Lane this afternoon. The whole junction of Macalister Road, Madras Lane, Jalan Zainal Abidin & Kek Chuan Road looked shockingly like a disaster area with numerous trucks, excavators & sand piles. A total difference from the 60s-70s laid-back afternoon inner city George Town filled with heavenly street food aroma & hawkers’ calls that I loved so much during my teens. And it was this very junction where I got my regular morning STAR newspapers & evening bottled red syrup drinks from the roadside mamak stalls beside the Chin Kang Hoey Kuan. My… Read more »
A very sad Father’s Day:
Penang freak storm: Anxious wait for dad on Father’s Day
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/16/nation/20130616173547&sec=nation
Another set of pics that show in perspective from the top of Menara UMNO, right down till it hit the lorry carrying the gas tanks (which killed the driver).. and another worse impact from the antenna itself causing a gaping hole in Jln Macalister and led to a burst water pipe !!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200781747860376&set=a.10200781557015605.1073741893.1663276839&type=1&theater
This tree is very near the stretch of Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane) undergoing the Upgrade Project which got hit with criticism last year for the trees removed. Now if I were staying in this area, I would actually be thankful for the trees removed that takes away the fear that one would have gone through last night seeing the tree branches sway vigorously, blown by the windstorm which hit Penang !!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200616028421219&set=a.10200616027341192.1073741874.1175032339&type=1&theater
More pics of the Tree Collapse at Jln Masjid Negeri .. just past the junction with Lebuhraya Batu Lancang ..
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200616027341192.1073741874.1175032339&type=1
My question would now be..
DO we persist in fighting for preservation of ALL trees just for the sake of preserving the environment ??
and I’m not talking of preservation of trees on a hillslope which will obviously have its detrimental effects..
Are u suggesting that we chop off all trees just because there is a risk that they will fall? This is what Malaysians do best. We like to blame God for everything that happens. If a landslide occurs, act of god. If a ramp collapses, act of god, if there are flash floods, act of god, if the mast of umno building collapses, act of god and now if a tree collapses, also an act of god. When can we start being responsible for the things we do? I have always said there are proper ways to do things and… Read more »
Are you sure that’s what I’m suggesting ?? “..chop off all trees just because there is a risk that they will fall?” Surely that is far from what I am implying here !! What I said above is.. DO we persist in fighting for preservation of ALL trees just for the sake of preserving the environment ?? Because there are groups of people who INSIST that trees CANNOT be cut !! Yet these very people are not in the line of fire when these trees (that may be prone to fall due to disease or internal rotting that’s unseen) start… Read more »
Nobody in their right mind would say that trees cannot be cut for safety reasons such as when a tree has decayed. If a tree is decayed it can be removed and re-planting can be done. People object only when trees have to be sacrificed for road works such as widening. In Pg, when roads are widened, not only are trees axed, but even pedestrian walkways are sacrificed for the benefit of motorists. If a tree has to be moved from an area to facilitate construction, it is alright, so long as re-planting of shady trees are done at the… Read more »
This link shows how big trees can be preserved or introduced by the side and in between roads without compromising on road width. Penang can study how Sg has made it work and do the same for our current plans such as the three highways and tunnel. http://www.terragalleria.com/images/malaysia/sing48877.jpeg http://www.localecology.org/images/seasia09_singapore_41.JPG Compare this to our Gottlieb Road which was just upgraded last year without much thought for greening it http://www.penang-traveltips.com/pics/gottlieb-road-george-town-penang.jpg So much more could have been done to green the place like in the examples shown. The state govt know that greening can be done because it has done so on some… Read more »
You are right Kevin !! The way the trees are planted and taken care off is simply 1st CLASS in Sg !!! I like the ample space for the big trees to sit on at the side walk.. and smaller trees planted in the narrower road divider. THANKS for the links !! 🙂 One thing that classically separates the way things are run in Sg and Pg (or Mas as a whole) is the quality of Town Planners and eventual staff who takes care of trees in the Local Council. If expertise and merit is overlooked in placement of staff… Read more »
Understand what you are trying to say. The MPPP has to place more emphasis on hiring quality and qualified people for the various jobs. Now that funding is less of a problem (MPPP has has a surplus every year since 2008), more can be spent on making Pg more liveable, more so for the poor who have no means of luxury other than their environment and public amenities. Experts have to be roped in to advice on how trees and greenery can be incorporated into a road upgrade without sacrificing road lanes. For a start, ensure that all new development… Read more »
What ‘botak’ thinking is this. Just b’cos one tree fell on a corner house’s gate in Greenlane during yesterday’s windstorm does it qualifies for total annihilation of all trees along the road to facilitate more volume of cars? It’s just like wishing Penang gets amphibious transport vessels (those used for transporting tanks & army 4WD vehicles) to replace those iconic ferries, which also rocked in the seas during yesterday storm! Why not ask all telcos to take down all antennas ‘feared’ as unsafe during another windstorm to come? B’cos we gleefully removed trees, we inadvertently contribute to climate change that… Read more »
“B’cos we gleefully removed trees, we inadvertently contribute to climate change that resulted in the rage of windstorms.” IF we remove MANY trees and contribute to climate change, specifically raising temperatures in a specific locality.. this then causes air to rise up leading to a reduced air pressure pocket, which attracts air flow from high pressure areas elsewhere. The bigger the air pressure difference, the stronger the air flow or wind velocities. IF you are on the track of blaming chopping trees for this flow of thought, then fingers should be pointed towards China because that is where the winds… Read more »
I think Soon Yew is talking about ‘The Butterfly Effect’?
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
WOW !! Thanks Glenda !! I didn’t realize they have a name for it 🙂
And thanks for the link on the “Butterfly effect” ..
“The butterfly effect is most familiar in terms of weather; it can easily be demonstrated in standard weather prediction models, for example.”
A more detailed description of the “Butterfly effect” and weather is at this link..
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/11/chaos-and-climate/
Now the blame will be on the govt for the clearing of land for development. ??? Clearing of land alone here wont caused such an effect. What happened is a worldwide phenomenon of development through out the world that cause hot air to rises that results in changes that is now moving worldwide causing such massive destruction. This one is a minor one compared to some that happen oversea
All the more to do our part of caring for Nature instead of following the worldly crowd of destroying the environment with unchecked greed in the name of progress. Karma effects will deal with those guilty of killing Nature, whether worldwide phenomena or not.
For Penangites, this one is no minor but scary.
I see only selfishness in such a b… statement. Only those who crave for properties just for the sake of wealth investment would say that. The Penang I knew when I was young is never the same as of today. Many developers lavishly replace the trees and lands with unnecessary bungalows and mansions, as if there were many super-rich expats and investors would eye on them and buy. Yeah right! I don’t see anyone’s presence in most of the houses whenever I passed by them. I call it the “Extravaganza” with extra waste of life!!! Reducing the trees means increasing… Read more »
Climate change havoc to SUSTAIN if the people still selfishly ignore the pain inflicted upon mother nature like carbon footprints (penangites, use public transport more don’t pollute more !)