Electronics center hit by floods

Electronics center hit by floods

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Work at Malaysia's biggest electronics
manufacturing center in Penang came to a near standstill
yesterday after heavy floods kept thousands of workers at home,
officials said.

Continuous rain over the weekend covered parts of Penang with
water up to three meters deep, forcing the closure of many
schools, government and businesses, the officials said.

The northern island, filled with computer-related factories of
companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Texas Instruments,
is dubbed Malaysia's "Silicon Valley" for its likeness to the
Californian original.

The national Bernama news agency said 800 people had been
evacuated and factories were being manned by skeletal staff.

Telephone lines were reported to be out of order and traffic
jammed in many places. No casualties were reported.