Floods strike Negeri Sembilan, raising to 132,000 number of evacuees nationwide

Negeri Sembilan today became the eighth state to be affected by the second wave of floods this year ravaging the country over the last 10 days.

More than 300 people in the state were hit by the floods this morning, raising to 132,684 the total number of flood evacuees nationwide.

The situation in flood-hit Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and Perak has reportedly worsened while the situation has improved slightly in Perlis and Kedah.

In KELANTAN, the floods have sent 55,960 people to relief centres, up from the 45,467 last night. The rain eased off in Kota Baharu this morning but the sky remains overcast.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to visit Kelantan today to have a first-hand look at the floods which have showed not signs of letting up.

In TERENGGANU, the number of evacuees has also gone up, to 35,028 from 33,269 last night.

Kemaman and Dungun are the worst-hit districts, recording 24,912 and 8,678 evacuees, respectively, at relief centres, according to the Terengganu National Security Council (NSC) portal.

The number of evacuees in the Kuala Terengganu district remains at 1,258 and that in Hulu Terengganu, at 180.

The evacuees in Terengganu are being housed at 95 relief centres. The floods in the state this year have now claimed four lives.

In JOHOR, up to 1,104 people have been evacuated as of this morning, up from 896 last night. Kota Tinggi is the latest district to be hit, according to the Johor disaster operations control room.

The other affected districts are Muar, Batu Pahat, Kulaijaya, Segamat and Kluang.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, 331 people from 124 families have been evacuated to a relief centre set up at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Kuala Pilah, said State Welfare Department director Abdullah Hanapi.

"They were evacuated after flash floods struck their homes yesterday. They have been provided with cooked food and sleeping paraphernalia," he said.

Negeri Sembilan Fire and Rescue director Norazam Khamis said he had instructed his personnel to be ready round the clock for any eventuality due to the bad weather.

In PERAK, the floods have struck Kerian, the fourth district in the state to be hit. The four districts have 6,724 people in relief centres, up from 6,335 yesterday.

A spokesman of the Perak NSC said Kerian had 43 evacuees; Kuala Kangsar, 2,711; Perak Tengah, 3,317 and Hulu Perak, 653.

In PAHANG, a spokesman of the Pahang Police flood operations room said the floods in the state showed no signs of letting up, forcing more people to be evacuated from their homes.

The number of evacuees stood at 33,324 this morning, and indications are that the number will rise.

In PERLIS, the situation in the flood-affected areas has improved, with only 200 left in relief centres.

In KEDAH, only 13 evacuees were at a relief centre in the Bandar Baharu district. Three relief centres in Padang Terap were closed yesterday.