Sarawak floods: Number of victims rises to more than 10,000

The flood situation in Sarawak turned for the worse with the number of evacuees rising by 3,151 people this evening to 10,103 compared with 6,952 victims in the afternoon.

In Sabah, two evacuation centres were opened in Beaufort and Membakut to accommodate 95 flood victims, while in Kelantan and Perak the number of victims remained unchanged at 255 and 78 respectively.

This evening, the total number of flood victims in the affected states rose to 10,743 people.

In Sarawak, a National Security Council (MKN) spokesman said with the increase in the number of victims, the number of relief centres provided also rose from 41 to 53 this evening.

He said 34 evacuation centres were opened in the Kuching division with the number of victims rising to 6,582 compared with 4,269 victims this afternoon.

sarawak

Personnel from the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department and Health Office use a boat to transport two villagers, Ligem Niko, 65, (left) and who is diabetic and Zaki Utrai, 50, (sitting, centre) who suffers from kidney problems. They were moved from the Kampung Selampit community centre to Lundu Hospital. - BERNAMApic

He said the number of victims in Samarahan division rose to 2,102 who were staying in 14 relief centres, while the number of victims in Limbang rose to 1,230 staying at three evacuation centres.

In Mukah, the number of victms remained at 189 staying at two relief centres while 27 schools were closed.

In Sabah, rain continued for the third day resulting in floods occurring in the districts of Beaufort, Membakut, Tenom and Keningau which affected 307 victims so far this evening.

Beaufort district officer Shahid Othman said 22 victims were evacuated to the Beaufort new hall while 73 victims in Membakut were transferred to the Membakut Multipurpose Hall.

He said the water level in Sungai Padas this evening reached 9.24 metres, exceeding the danger level of 8.70 metres, resulting in several roads in the district being impassable namely Jalan Jempangah St. John, Jalan Lawa, Jalan Bukau, Jalan Luagan, Jalan Limbawang and Jalan Lintas Pekan.

Sabah Education Department director Datuk Jame Alip said 10 schools in Beaufort were closed since this morning due to the floods.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Malaysian Civil Defence Department (JPAM) said 122 victims in Tenom and 90 victims in Keningau were evacuated to their relatives' homes as there were no relief centres opened yet in the two districts so far.

In PERAK, the number of victims remained at 78 from 19 families who were sheltering at two relief centres as at this evening.

A MKN Perak spokesman said out of the 78 victims in the state, 44 were in Perak Tengah while 34 were in Hulu Perak.

In KELANTAN, the number of victims was also unchanged at 255 as in the afternoon. They were being sheltered at eight relief centres in Kuala Krai as of this afternoon.