All Malaysia Airlines flights to and from Alor Setar are still cancelled due to the closure of Sultan Abdul Halim Airport.

In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said passengers on the affected flights could exchange their tickets to fly either to or from Penang or Langkawi.

The statement said that travellers could also change their travel dates at no fee regardless of ticket types, up to Nov 15, or get the tickets refunded.

NONE It also urged travellers to keep in touch with the airline's toll-free call centre at 1-300-88-3000 (within Malaysia) or +603-7843 3000 (from outside Malaysia) or visit its ticketing offices before proceeding to the airport.

The Sultan Abdul Halim Airport was closed since Tuesday after floodwaters seeped onto parts of the 2,745m long runway.

Meanwhile, the number of flood victims evacuated in Kedah rose to 39,785 as at 4pm today compared with 39,512 people this morning, with the Kota Setar district being the worst affected.

A spokesman of the National Security Council's operations room said so far, 100 relief centres had been set up.

80% of Alor Setar city under water

A check by Bernama around Alor Setar city, which was already 80 percent inundated, found that many roads were impassable to light traffic when water levels rose quickly.

NONE Several important buildings including government offices and shopping complexes were already flooded resulting in the complexes being closed much earlier than usual.

Several light vehicles which attempted to force their way through these roads had stalled, forcing other vehicles to look for other alternative routes.

Meanwhile, a check around Jitra town in the district of Kubang Pasu found that the water level was receding and there were areas that had returned to normal. However, the victims could not return home yet because of the dirt and debris brought in by the flood waters.

Since the floods occurred on Nov 1, the district was cut off from the Kota Setar district when major roads namely the Hutan Kampung-Alor Setar Road and Kepala Batas-Alor Setar Road were inundated and were impassable to light vehicles.

- Bernama