Malaysia: Pahang, Johor floods worsen

The Star 18 Dec 07;

KUANTAN: The floods in Pahang are showing no sign of letting up, with the number of evacuees increasing to more than 20,000.

As of 1pm yesterday, the number of evacuees statewide stood at 22,549 from 4,788 families in 184 flood relief centres. This was a slight increase from the 21,199 people from 4,384 families on Sunday.

Pekan still recorded the highest number of people with 9,364 in 45 centres, followed by Temerloh (4,649), Maran (2,677), Rompin (2,472), Bera (2,204) and Kuantan (1,183).

A spokesman for the flood operations centre said the relief centre in Jerantut was closed with the remaining 19 people returning to their homes after water receded at 8am yesterday.

He said certain stretches along the road between Muadzam Shah and Rompin and the trunk road in Lanchang were still under water.

There were no new reports of missing persons, he added.

In Kedah, more than 400 people in two districts were evacuated as rivers burst their banks following heavy rain.

At least 79 families from 12 villages in Padang Terap were evacuated yesterday as the Sungai Pedu water level reached 18.71m, above the 17.01m danger level yesterday.

In Kubang Pasu, at least eight families from Kampung Alur Biak were also evacuated.

The road between Padang Sera and Kodiang was closed as of 6pm.

In Sarawak, residents in the flood-hit central part of the state were warned to prepare for more rain in the upper reaches of the Rejang River basin.

Kapit recorded abnormal rainfall of 112mm on Dec 12 (normal is 70mm), which resulted in floods in Kanowit, Song and Sibu.

In Johor, Bernama reports that the number of flood evacuees in the state went up again yesterday as more people returned to the relief centres due to rising water levels in affected areas.

As at 10pm, the number of evacuees was 3,633 from 927 families at 46 relief centres, compared with 3,109 people at 6pm.

The highest number of evacuees was recorded in Muar, totalling 1,621 at 14 relief centres, followed by Segamat with 1,230 evacuees at 19 relief centres.

Following heavy rain yesterday, seven relief centres in Johor Baru, which had been closed earlier, had to be reopened to provide shelter for 685 people.

Two relief centres in Kota Tinggi were also reopened today to cater for 34 flood victims, while 64 people were evacuated to three relief centres in Batu Pahat.

Flood round up: Thousands more forced to flee homes
New Straits Times 18 Dec 07;

KUALA LUMPUR: Another two men died, two persons are feared dead and thousands more were forced to flee their homes as deadly floods continued to plague several states.
For the first time, the Royal Malaysian Air Force used a C130H transport aircraft to air-drop food supplies in the Pekan district of Pahang yesterday for distribution to relief centres cut off by floodwaters.

At press time yesterday, the number of deaths caused by the floods stood at 26 and the number of evacuees in Pahang, Kelantan and Johor at 34,411.

Kelantan, meanwhile, continued to suffer the most as the number of evacuees in the state more than doubled.
A police spokesman said 8,066 residents had been moved from their flood-hit homes to relief centres. On Sunday, the figure stood at 3,501.

Pasir Mas recorded the highest number with 6,216 people, followed by Tumpat (894), Tanah Merah (567), Machang (248), Kota Baru (136) and Kuala Krai (5).

He said Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan near Penambang had been closed to light traffic after it was submerged by 1m of floodwaters.

The two roads in Gua Musang at Km55 Gua Musang-Kuala Krai near Paloh 1 and Km65 Gua Musang-Kuala Krai near Sungai Lakit, which were closed to traffic following landslides on Sunday remained closed yesterday.

"Motorists, however, can continue using the Dabong road as an alternative route," the spokesman said.

He said three of the eight main flood assessment points in the state at the Sultan's pier here, Sungai Golok and Sungai Kusial recorded waters above the danger level as at 5.30pm while waters in other areas had receded to below the danger level.

The number of flood victims forced out of their houses in Pahang also increased from 21,000 on Sunday to 23,102 yesterday.

Pekan, the worst hit district, recorded a total of 9,379 evacuees compared with 7,955 the previous day.

There were 4,649 evacuees in Temerloh, 3,086 in Maran, 2,581 in Rompin, 2,217 in Bera, 1,190 in Kuantan and 160 in Jerantut.

A spokesman for the state flood operations centre in Kuantan said most of the new evacuees were from villages along the main rivers in the state.

"The weather here may seem to have improved over the past few days, but the rivers keep on swelling due to the huge volume of water."

Main roads still closed to traffic included the stretch between Km24 and Km30 of Jalan Pekan-Kuantan near Ubai and that between Km3 and Km6 of Jalan Temerloh-Bera.

The stretches near Nenasi and Leban Condong along Jalan Pekan-Rompin are still closed to light vehicles.

There was better news for Johor, however, as more people continued to slowly return to their dwellings.

Receding waters enabled relief centres in Johor Baru, Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Pontian and Mersing to close and victims to return home.

According to a state flood operations centre spokesman, 3,169 victims from 831 families are still seeking shelter at relief centres in Muar, Batu Pahat, and Segamat. On Sunday, the number was 3,602.

Muar now has the highest number of evacuees in the state at 1,767 at 15 relief centres, followed by Segamat (1,311) at 22 centres and Batu Pahat (91) at four centres.

However, four roads are still closed to all vehicles, namely Jalan Pogoh (Kampung Bukit Senggeh) and Jalan Pogoh-Tekam (Sungai Labis), Segamat; Jalan Muar-Pagoh-Labis (Bukit Kepong); and Jalan Yong Peng-Parit Sulong, Batu Pahat.