Flood situation worsens in Sabah, affected residents told to follow orders

KUALA LUMPUR: The flood situation is getting worse in Sabah, with continuous downpour this week affecting several districts in the state.

As of this evening, the number of evacuees rose to 348 people compared to 176 this morning, and all have been placed at nine evacuation centres (PPS).

The affected districts are Kota Kinabalu, Kota Belud, Pitas, Beaufort, Paitan, Putatan, Penampang, Tuaran and Papar.

The floods also affected 25 roads in several districts, with 10 landslide incidents reported today. However, there were no fatalities.

The affected roads were located in Penampang, Tuaran, Kudat, Pitas, Paitan and Lahad Datu while landslides were reported to have occurred in seven villages in four districts, namely Kota Kinabalu, Kota Marudu, Pitas and Kudat.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor has urged all affected residents to immediately move to the PPS when told to and to comply with all the instructions given by authorities so as to avoid any untoward incidents.

In the meantime, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has forecast thunderstorms in several areas in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan from today until Jan 23.

Meanwhile, in SARAWAK, the number of evacuees at the PPS dropped to 1,208 people this evening compared to 1,870 earlier today.

In JOHOR, the two PPS in Segamat and Batu Pahat were closed after flood waters had fully receded, while in PAHANG, Temerloh and Bera had also recovered from the floods and the last three evacuation centres in the districts were also closed this evening.

-- BERNAMA