GEORGE TOWN: Residents of high-rise buildings near Taman Seri Rambai, hit by a landslide last Sunday, recall when the surrounding hills were covered in greenery before development gradually stripped the slopes bare.

Faris Haikal Anizal, 22, who has lived in Jalan Bukit Kukus since birth, said the landscape had changed significantly over the past decade, with recent clearing leaving parts of the hills exposed.

The factory worker recalled playing football with friends on open ground below the hills when he was younger, before development changed the surrounding landscape.

"Everything was green back then. Gradually, the hills were cleared, and now there is no longer a green patch left," he said when met today.