Clearing works around the collapsed insulation beam at Menara Umno in Macalister Road in George Town will continue until midnight.     

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the works must go on to prevent other complications even though the beam which was still precariously suspended from the building had not been shifted.     

"According to the original plan, we will wait until the beam is shifted before we do the clearing works because we are afraid it might suddenly fall.     

"But now we cannot delay because the soil is subsiding due to the broken underground pipe," he told reporters at the scene of the incident in George Town today.     

JKP Sdn Bhd CEO Adzmi Ariffin said the 10-tonne crane rented by the government to remove the debris was delivered to the location late because the contractor had to first survey the area before bringing the machinery over.     

Meanwhile, the water disruption around Datuk Keramat, Kampung Jawa, Komtar and Jalan Anson here had not been fully restored and expected to continue until tomorrow.

TNB: Power up by tomorrow

Meanwhile, on a related matter, the electricity supply disruption in  several areas on the island and mainland following heavy storms yesterday evening will be fully restored by 3pm tomorrow, said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).     

Penang TNB general manager (distribution), SN Mohandass said the disruption was due to collapsed electricity poles and broken cables.    

"Power supply in many areas is 72 percent restored and TNB expects it to be fully restored by tomorrow," he told reporters today.     

He said there were 374 cases of disrupted electricity supply and TNB had resolved 272 of them.     

He added the storms wreaked havoc at 6.45pm yesterday leaving about 4,000 houses in George Town, Air Itam, Air Putih, Balik Pulau and Tanjung Bungah on the island and Butterworth, Bagan Jermal, Bagan Dalam, Tasek Gelugor and Penaga in the mainland without electricity.      

- Bernama