KUALA LUMPUR: More people have been evacuated to flood relief centres in Sabah, Pahang, Melaka, Johor and Negri Sembilan while the numbers continue to decrease in Kelantan and Terengganu.
In Sabah, the number of flood victims rose from 717 people previously to 1,161 people yesterday.
The State Disaster Management Secretariat reported that 18 areas in Telupid were affected by floods, followed by Kota Marudu (10) and one each in Paitan, Beluran and Sandakan.
Five more shelters have been opened in Kota Marudu to accommodate 969 people, involving 353 families. This brings the total number of relief centres in the district to seven.
In Telupid, 43 people from eight families are taking shelter in three relief centres.
In Pahang, the second wave of floods saw an increase in the number of evacuees with 986 people taking shelter at 38 centres as at noon, up from 649 people in the morning.
Jerantut is the latest district to be hit by floods after Raub, Lipis, Maran, Bera and Rompin.
Eleven centres are still open in Temerloh and Pekan from Dec 18, housing 1,063 evacuees. However, the centre in Bentong closed yesterday.
Some roads are closed – Jalan Sungai Lembing in Kuantan, Jalan Kuala Lumpur-Kuantan (Maran), Jalan Kuantan-Segamat (Pekan) and Jalan Kuala Lipis-Jerantut (Jerantut), as well as Jalan Temerloh-Jerantut and Jalan Paya Luas-Perlok, both in Temerloh.
Braving the deluge: People being evacuated in Kudat, Sabah. The number of flood victims in the state has risen to 1,161.
According to the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s (DID) official portal, the water level at seven rivers is above the danger level, three of which are in Lipis – Sungai Tanum at Chegar Perah, Sungai Lipis at Benta and Sungai Jelai at Lipis Jetty.
The others are Sungai Pahang at Paya Gintong (Jerantut), Sungai Pahang at Kuala Krau (Temerloh), Sungai Serting at Padang Gudang (Bera) and Sungai Luit at Kampung Subuh (Maran).
In MELAKA, 1,225 people are now taking shelter at 17 flood relief centres in the state.
State Civil Defence Force director Lt-Kol (PA) Cuthbert Johh Martin Quadra said 24 areas in the state were impacted by the floods, including Alor Gajah, Melaka Tengah and Jasin.
In JOHOR, Kota Tinggi became the third district to be hit by the floods with 1,827 people from 466 families having been evacuated as at noon yesterday, up from 1,646 people from 425 families previously.
State health and environment committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said four more centres were open – three in Segamat and one in Kota Tinggi – bringing the total to 32.
“In Kota Tinggi, 16 people from four families are taking shelter at SK Teluk Ramunia, Pengerang, while in Tangkak, 40 people from 10 families were evacuated to Sekolah Agama Bandar Tangkak,” he said.
Both Sungai Segamat at Bandar Segamat and Sungai Tangkak at Kampung Sri Makmur, Tangkak, are above the danger level.
Three others have exceeded the warning level.
They are Sungai Muar at Kampung Olak Sepam and Buloh Kasap, Muar; Sungai Lenik at Ladang Chaah, Segamat and Sungai Kesang at Telok Rimba, Tangkak.
In NEGRI SEMBILAN, the Social Welfare Department’s InfoBencana app showed that the number of evacuees has increased to 2,166 people in 18 centres as at noon, up from 1,767 people in the morning.
In KELANTAN, the number of evacuees has dropped to 255 people in three centres in Kuala Krai and Jeli, down from 308 people previously.
According to the DID portal, the water in all major rivers in the state has receded to below the danger level.
Only four rivers are still above the warning level – Sungai Kelantan at Kuala Krai; Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas and Sungai Kelantan at Kusial, Tanah Merah.
In TERENGGANU, one centre in Kemaman has been closed, reducing the number of evacuees to 137 from 147.
Dungun is the only district affected by the floods in the state, with two centres still in operation.
Water in major rivers in the state has also receded to below the danger mark, with only two rivers still above the warning level – Sungai Besut at Jambatan Keruak, Besut and Sungai Kemaman at Rumah Pam Paya Paman, Kemaman.