Over 15,000 flood evacuees at relief centres in seven states

KUALA LUMPUR: Over 15,000 flood evacuees remain in 188 relief shelters in Johor, Pahang, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Sabah and Terengganu last night.

In JOHOR, the number of evacuees rose to 4,737 people as of 8 pm compared to 4,278 people this evening, state Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said, adding that seven districts in the state are still affected by floods compared to eight this evening following the closure of the relif centre in Dewan Raya Sungai Tiram, Johor Bahru at 7 pm.

"Tere are 71 relief centres open in seven districts, with Segamat recording the highst number of evacuees, 3,554 people, followed by Mersing (476), Kota Tinggi (210), Tangkak (297), Muar (52) and Batu Pahat (77), while in Kluang the number remained at 71 people," he said.

In PAHANG, the number of evacuees dropped slightly tonight to 2,438 people from 713 families at 46 centres compared to 2,572 people in 55 centres this evening. They are being housed in centres in the districts of Temerloh, Kuantan, Maran, Rompin, Jerantut, Lipis, Raub, Bera and Pekan.

Also, 11 roads were closed as of 8 pm, including Jalan Air Hitam in Kuantan, Jalan Kampung Wau-Kertau (Maran), Jalan Kuala Lipis-Jerantut (Jerantut), Jalan Temerloh-Jerantut (Temerloh), Jalan Ulu Dong (Raub) and Jalan Southern Loop (Bentong).

The publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my website meanwhile reported that water levels at Sungai Pahang at Kuala Sungai Chini in Pekan, Sungai Serting in Jambatan Padang Gudang (Bera) and Paya Gintong (Jerantut) still exceeded danger levels, but were on downward trends.

In MELAKA, the number of evacuees also declined slightly to 2,591 people from 667 families as of 8 pm compared to 2,621 people from 674 families at 4 pm. The evacuees were from 14 areas in Alor Gajah, nine areas in Melaka Tengah and 10 areas in Jasin.

From the total, 1,007 people from 264 families are housed in nine centres in Alor Gajah, 1,391 people from 358 families are at centres in Melaka Tengah and 193 people from 45 families are in four centres in Jasin.

Also, Melaka Works, Transport, Public Facilities, Infrastructure and Flood Management Committee chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman said heavy rain outside Melaka, especially at upstream of rivers flowing into the state had contributed to the floods that hit the state since last Saturday.

"Sungai Lubok China and Sungai Melaka both received heavy rain upstream in Negeri Sembilan, causing the water to overflow in low-lying areas and affect the areas around Lubok China as well as Krubong, Taman Merdeka and Peringgit in the Melaka Tengah district.

"In Jasin, Sungai Kesang from Tangkak, Johor has overflowed and affected several areas in Sungai Rambai, Semujuk and Lanchang," he told Bernama.

In NEGERI SEMBILAN, the number of flood evacuees dropped to 1,967 people from 540 families with 21 relief centres open as of 8 pm compared to 2,073 people from 568 families this evening.

In SELANGOR, the number of evacuees remained the same at 40 people, 25 of them being housed at Dewan Orang Ramai Kampung Kelanang and 15 people at Balai Raya Majlis Pengurusan Komuniti Kampung (MPKK) Banting in Kuala Langat district. Also, the water level of Sungai Langat in Bukit Changgang, Kuala Langat, which had been at danger level this evening, had dropped to alert level of 4.12 metres as of 8 pm.

In SABAH, the number of evacuees remained at 3,329 people at 26 centres in six districts tonight. Kota Marudu still has the highest number of evacuees, with 2,766 people in 14 centres, followed by Pitas (234 people in four centres), Telupid (159 people in six centres), Paitan (83 people in three centres), Sandakan (46 people in one centre) and Beluran (41 people in two centres).

In TERENGGANU, a second wave of flooding resulted in the opening of one relief center in Kemaman district at 9 pm to house 10 evacuees from two families.

The state disaster management committee secretariat announced in a statement that the relief centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Geliga was opened after houses were flooded as a result of tidal surges that occurred tonight.

The situation is being monitored to ensure the safety of residents in the affected area and they have been ordered to evacuate to relief centres if needed.

-- BERNAMA