By now you must have heard about the floods that ravaged Kedah and part of Perak on Wednesday. Most outlets report at least 3 people declared missing and 3 more dead as a result. Our thoughts are with the affected families.
Take a look at the damage the floods have had on Kedah’s roads. We wonder if this damage was caused due to poor planning or if it’s just down to how severe the rain was on the day. Needless to say, we will not get a satisfying answer from the authorities.
Photos shared with us show just how poorly Kedah’s infrastructure was equipped to deal with the amount of floodwater that came in from the hills and mountains. Not just road surfaces but railings cracked as well.
You can see here that even off-roaders were not spared, with collapsing roads and landslides dragging even pick-up trucks off and causing major damage. Some car owners may have thought about taking a risk by driving through some flood waters. Clearly, this driver was only dissuaded by the fact that there was an obstruction on the road.
The floods have caused road surfaces to loosen up and crack. But not just that, we’re also seeing landslides, as well as trees and rocks falling onto cars. This purple Proton Gen 2 experienced this first hand.
It looks like most of the windows on the car were broken through entirely by the impact these tree trunks and branches had on the car’s roof. We hope the owner and the occupants got out safe.
Should You Drive Through Floodwater?
To most of you, the answer is simple: obviously not.
But so many Malaysians still risk it anyway.
Back in May, we saw a Proton X50 owner attempt to drive through some flood water only to have his car stall halfway through.
Driving through flood water is extremely dangerous even when the water level is reasonably low. That’s because you aren’t able to see and assess the road surface underneath. There could be a massive pothole, a new crack in the road surface, some harmful debris or worse.
Even if you have all-wheel drive, it’s not worth the risk. If the flood water has a strong current, it’s very likely that your vehicle will be pulled away.
