Floods: Number of evacuees rise in Kelantan, Perak

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of flood victims in Kelantan and Perak continues to rise on Sunday (Dec 17) night, while the situation in Terengganu and Selangor is reportedly improving.

In Kelantan the number of flood victims increased to 4,840 people from 1,528 families as at 8pm on Sunday night, compared to 4,114 people from 1,282 families in the morning.

According to the Disaster Info portal of the Social Welfare Department, only Pasir Mas and Tanah Merah districts were still affected by the floods and all victims were being housed in 15 temporary relief centres (PPS).

In Pasir Mas, the evacuees are placed in Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Gual Tinggi, SK Sri Rantau Panjang (2), SK Gual To’Deh, SK Kok Pauh, SK Gual Sitok, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Gual Periok, SMK Baroh Pial, SK Kedai Tanjong, SK Gual Periok, Madrasah Tasek Bakong, Mukim Padang Lincin Mosque, SK Sri Kiambang, SMK (A) Lati and SK Lati.

In Tanah Merah, the victims were taking shelter at PPS Sekolah Menengah Ugama (A) Kajang.

In Perak, the number of flood victims has increased slightly tonight to 87 people from 26 families, compared to 80 victims from 25 families when Dewan Serbaguna Padang Tembak flood relief centre (PPS) opened in Teluk Intan in the morning.

The Perak Civil Defence Force (APM) Disaster Management Committee Secretariat said the affected residents were from Batu 9, Lorong Kedah, Lorong Belakang Klinik, Lorong Sidang Osman, Batu 7, Batu 8, Lorong Imam Khairi and Lorong Mesra.

Meanwhile, the Perak Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) reported that the Sungai Bidor water level at Changkat Jong has reached a dangerous level of 3.57m.

In Terengganu, the second wave of floods that hit the state is gradually improving, with the number of victims being housed in the PPS dropping sharply to 824 victims from 184 families as of 8 pm, compared to 2,693 victims from 654 families in the morning.

According to the Terengganu Flood Management Committee Secretariat, all the flood evacuees are placed in 10 PPS in three districts: Setiu, Dungun, and Marang, while the Kemaman, Hulu Terengganu, and Besut districts have fully recovered from the floods.

In Dungun, a total of 595 victims from 151 families are taking shelter at six PPS while in Marang, 179 evacuees from 22 families were housed at three PPS. In Setiu, only 50 victims from 11 families are still sheltering at the Kampung Nyatoh Surau.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department’s (DID) official flood information portal, which could be accessed at https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my said river water levels at all major stations in the state are at normal levels, except for the Sungai Tersat in Kampung Sekayu, Hulu Terengganu, which was at the warning level.

In Selangor, the JPS Info Banjir portal reported that the number of flood evacuees had dropped from 69 people from 23 families in the morning to 39 people from 11 families as of 9pm.

Two PPS were still operating in the state, namely at Sekolah Rendah Agama (SRA) Padang Jawa in Klang housing 20 victims while 19 people were taking shelter at SK Parit Mahang in Kuala Selangor. – BK