GEORGE TOWN — Over 20,000 students in Penang braved the flood waters on Monday morning (Nov 6) to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education or SPM) examination, as the number of flood victims in state continues to rise.

Around 150 students from SMK Datuk Haji Ahmad secondary school in Sungai Dua — a district south of state capital George Town — crowded into lorries and four wheel drive vehicles to cross the metre-high water to ensure they do not miss sitting for the O-level equivalent exam.

A total of 443,883 students nationwide are currently sitting for the exam. In Penang, some 23,114 students are taking the exam at 159 schools.

In SMK Datuk Haji Ahmad, it was a surreal scene as almost the entire school was submerged under waist-deep water.

A school staff member, who refused to be identified, said floods had hit the school before, but not with such ferocity.

With the examination hall located on the second floor of the school’s building, students, invigilators, and teachers crossed a rudimentary “bridge” made of tables to reach the school’s staircase.

Student Mohamad Hakimi Mohd Syed, 17, described the situation as surreal.

“My family lives in Taman Seri Murni (a residential area about 850m from the school) and our home was also inundated by flood waters,” he said.

“It is impossible to fully concentrate on today’s Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) and Pendidikan Seni (Art) papers — my house is submerged.”

Ms Wan Nur Farahin Wan Sabri, 17, echoed her schoolmate’s remarks, saying that she was just hoping for the best.

“It’s so difficult to concentrate. I just memorised as much of the subjects as I could,” she said. “Now I have to just hope and pray for the best.”

In the face of adversity, Ms Nurlisa Amirah Ahmad Nizar, 17, kept a positive attitude.

“It was a strange experience today. We were ferried to school in a lorry and saw the school submerged in waist-deep water.

“All we can do is to try our best. The trip to the exam hall would have been fun if there were no exams,” she said with a smile.

Flash floods caused by hours of torrential rain killed at least seven people in Penang and military forces deployed on Sunday to help rescue thousands of displaced people.

Nearly 80 per cent of Penang is flooded, with several areas inundated by 0.2 to one metre of water as a result of heavy rain and strong winds since Thursday.

Flood waters inundated major roads and disrupted electricity supply to key areas in the state. Photos showed firemen helping to evacuate residents while some transport services, like those of bus operator Rapid Penang, were suspended on Sunday morning and only resumed in the evening.

The number of people who have been evacuated increased to 5,845 as of Monday morning (Nov 6), from 3,779 on Sunday.

They are currently being housed in 62 relief centres.

A police flood operations room spokesman said more areas were inundated with flood waters on Sunday night, forcing more residents to leave their homes. AGENCIES