KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — As floods in the country enter the sixth day today, the situation appeared to be improving with slight increase in victims at temporary relief centres (PPS) as compared to yesterday.
The states which saw a rise in evacuees at PPS were Pahang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Perak, with the number in Melaka unchanged while Kelantan continued to see a fall in flood victims.
However, the Ministry of Environment and Water (KASA) yesterday announced that the water level of rivers in several flooded states are still at warning and alert levels except in several areas in Pahang which showed a rising trend and are at danger level.
The number of flood victims in Selangor, went up slightly from 23,375 victims from 6,349 families last night to 23,633 victims from 6,422 families at 128 PPS.
Apart from that, the Selangor contingent police headquarters announced 15 roads including five lanes were still closed involving areas under nine state district police headquarters following floods as at 4 am this morning.
The road closures involved five roads under Subang Jaya district police headquarters (IPD); two each at Petaling Jaya and Kuala Selangor IPD while one road was closed in the IPD of Kuala Langat; Sepang; KLIA; Hulu Selangor; Shah Alam and Sabak Bernam.
In Pahang, the Welfare Department (JKM) Info Bencana application reported the total number of flood victims this morning was 42,529 people in 281 PPS in all districts except Rompin and Cameron Highlands.
Several main rivers were also found exceeding the danger level with a rising trend in Sungai Pahang at several locations including Bera Water Front, Lubuk Pasu (Temerloh), Lubuk Paku (Maran) and Kuala Sungai Chini (Pekan).
The Meteorological Department is forecasting rainy weather in the morning in some areas in Bera and Bentong while other districts will enjoy fair weather before thunderstorms are likely to occur in some areas in the evening.
Meanwhile, the main highway concession holder in Pahang, Anih Bhd reported that the route from Bentong to Karak at the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and Chenor to Karak route on the East Coast Highway Phase 1 (LPT1) are still not passable in both directions.
In Negeri Sembilan, state Civil Defence Force (APM) director Lt Col (PA) Mohd Syukri Madnor said the number of flood victims as at 8 am this morning was 329 people from 89 families in five PPS for the districts of Seremban and Jelebu, which was an increase of one victim as compared to last night.
In Perak, there were 286 flood victims in two PPS in Hilir Perak as well as one PPS each at Dewan Bandaran Teluk Intan and Dewan Sekolah Menengah Abdul Rahman Talib, as at 8 am.
A spokesman of APM and Perak Disaster Management Committee secretariat said there was light drizzle at the flooded locations this morning which may turn into continuous heavy rain while the current river water levels in Sungai Bidor, Hilir Perak fell to the warning level at 3.43 meter (m) compared to yesterday which exceeded the danger level at 3.80m.
Meanwhile, Kuala Kangsar district police chief ACP Omar Bakhtiar Yaacob said the floods in Kampung Talang, Kuala Kangsar last night had began to recede and the sound of sirens issued by the Fire and Rescue Department was a reminder for residents to be vigilant as the area was flooded.
In Melaka, the number of flood victims remained at 165 victims from 41 families as of 8 this morning, said Melaka Civil Defence Force director Lt Col (PA) Cuthbert John Martin.
Meanwhile, Kelantan showed a decrease in the number of flood victims as of 8 this morning involving 2,500 compared to 2,617 people yesterday, with 15 PPS opened in two districts, namely 10 in Pasir Mas and five in Kuala Krai, according to the Kelantan APM Disaster Management and Operations Secretariat Zainuddin Hussin .
Meanwhile, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) info portal reported that only two major rivers were at danger level involving Pasir Mas district, namely Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang, which recorded a reading of 9.53 meters (m) and Sungai Kelantan in Rantau Panjang (9.47 m).
— Bernama
