KUALA LUMPUR: About 200 Malaysians have been affected by the floods in the region of Queensland, Australia.

       The Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Monday (Feb 28) said 75 people have been evacuated by local authorities to temporary shelters (PPS), while another 35 were awaiting assistance to be evacuated.

       Earlier, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah via a post on his Twitter page said 75 of them were students under various agencies stationed at the University of Queensland relief centre.

       Saifuddin said overall, there were 348 Malaysians registered in Queensland, including about 200 students.

       He said the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra in collaboration with the representative of the Malaysian community in Brisbane, Chan Wai Kiong and the Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (Masca) President Razin Hadi was monitoring and coordinating the relocation of affected Malaysians to relief centres.

       "The Queensland state government, through a televised broadcast, has informed that the flood situation is expected to continue for the next three to five days.

       "According to the weather forecast agency, the southbound rain situation is expected to affect some areas around Northeast New South Wales and Sydney," he said.

       Saifuddin said the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra in collaboration with the Malaysian Consulate in Sydney was always on alert and monitoring and reporting on the development of the floods from time to time.

       He advised Malaysians in the affected areas to contact the High Commission directly at +61261 200 300/310 or +61416 334 901 or email to mwcanberra@kln.gov.my.

       Based on a report by the Queensland authorities, the rain that started on Feb 25 is expected to continue for another three to five days.

       Among the areas affected are Brisbane City, Bulimba, Hamilton, Milton, New Farm, Newstead, Norman Park, Oxley, Rocklea, South Brisbane, St Lucia, Teneriffe, Toowong, West End, Windsor and Yeronga.

       According to a Foreign Ministry statement, no flood-related deaths involving Malaysians have been reported so far.

       According to media reports, thousands of residents on Australia’s east coast were ordered to leave their homes following heavy rains that submerged several towns. The death toll has risen to eight so far.

       A total of 1,544 people were evacuated to relief centres, while more than 1,000 schools on the country's east coast were closed. - Bernama