Johor floods recede, except in Segamat

The Star 7 Dec 07;

JOHOR BARU: Despite the intermittent rain throughout the day, the flood situation in the state improved, with the exception of Segamat.

More than half the evacuees in Johor Baru returned home as waters receded. At 8am, there were 1,573 evacuees at 11 relief centres in the district, but by 4pm, only 726 remained at two relief centres.

A spokesperson from the flood operations room said this brought the total number of flood victims in the state down to 3,705, from 4,491 at 8am.

However, the situation worsened in Segamat with 2,697 people seeking shelter at relief centres at 4pm Friday, up from 1,786 at 8am.

In Segamat, three roads - Jalan Jabi-Bukit Tempurung, Jalan Begal-Selumpur and Jalan Tuanku Tiga - were closed to all traffic.

Jalan Kampung Logah-Medoi and Jalan Bangas-Selumpur, Jalan Jabi Sermin-Bukit Tempurung were only accessible to heavy vehicles.

All flood relief centres in Muar were closed by 4pm as evacuees returned home, while the situation in Kluang (457 victims) and Batu Pahat (29) remained unchanged.

In Kluang, Jalan Ladang Selai and Jalan Ladang Enggang Paloh remained close to all traffic from Thursday night.

However, the 17th mile of Jalan Kluang-Mersing was reopened to traffic Friday.

The situation in Kota Tinggi also improved, with only 195 people remaining at relief centres at 4pm compared to 623 at 8am.