Urban Well-Being, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar said the weather conditions in Penang were unexpected.

“I was also told that a dam broke, causing water from outside Penang to flow into the state,” he said during the ministerial question time.

However, he did not name the affected dam.

Noh advised state governments to ensure better management of green lungs, hill slopes and drainage systems when approving development plans.

Noor Azmi Ghazali (BN-Bagan Serai) had asked the minister whether factors such as the cutting of hill slopes and deforestation had contributed to the Penang floods.

Noh lamented that some flood victims had refused to evacuate their homes despite firemen advising them to do so.

He said he was told in a briefing by the Penang Fire and Rescue Department director that one of the victims died after he refused to leave his flooded home.

To date, the floods in Penang have claimed seven lives.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the massive flooding was a result of excessive rain over a 15-hour period.

He said the equivalent of one-and-a-half months’ rainfall was recorded in Penang in less than 24 hours.

The freak weather conditions were likely influenced by Typhoon Damrey which wreaked havoc in Vietnam, he added.

Lim said Butterworth recorded 372mm of rain — the highest on record in the state. The previous highest recorded rainfall was 315mm at the Air Itam Dam not long ago.