Malaysia: Flood situation to worsen in four states

New Straits Times 29 Dec 11;

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent bout of floods that hit Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak is expected to worsen with major rivers already showing signs of over-flowing.

Sarawak recorded the highest number of victims with 2,657 people at 15 relief centres.

According to the National Security Council's website yesterday, the relief centre in Samarahan topped the list with 1,407 victims, followed by Selanggau (558), Kuching (500), Sri Aman (102) and Asajaya (84).

The website of the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) said Sungai Batang Sadong in Serian, Sarawak, had triggered a "warning" alert at 8.57m at 5pm yesterday, warning residents of impending floods.

With continuous heavy rain in the past four days causing massive floods in Sarawak, the authorities said it might get worse with high tides at major waterways.

In Sabah, the districts of Tenom, Kemabong, Tambunan, Beaufort and Keningau were in danger of being inundated as the six rivers in these areas reached alert level.

In Johor, the situation improved with more victims in Segamat, Mersing and Batu Pahat allowed to go home, leaving only 715 people at 11 relief centres yesterday.

However, DID warned those staying near Sungai Muar and Sungai Simpang Kiri Batu Pahat to be cautious as the water levels were close to reaching the alert level.

In Pahang, the situation in Rompin improved with only 15 evacuees remaining at the relief centre in Kampung Gadak.

As for National Service trainees who were affected by floods in their areas, the National Service Training Department said they were allowed to report late.

Its director-general, Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil, said the trainees would have to get confirmation letters from their respective village heads or any of the relief centres and flood operations rooms.

Thousands still hit by floods
The Star 29 Dec 11;

KUALA LUMPUR: The floods that hit Pahang, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak are still affecting thousands.

Sarawak recorded the highest number of flood victims with a state flood operations room spokesman reporting that 3,999 people were sheltering at 20 relief centres yesterday.

He said Samarahan had the highest number of evacuees at 3,123 people from 743 families, followed by Kuching (168 families/648 people), Sibu (30/128) and Sri Aman (32/100).

He said the authorities were only allowing evacuees to return to their homes on a case-by-case basis as the situation could deteriorate.

The floods in low-lying areas in Sarawak have been attributed to the incessant heavy rain over the last four days coupled with high tide at major waterways.

In Johor, the situation improved slightly with 1,075 victims still housed at shelters yesterday morning compared to 1,177 the previous night.

The National Security Council’s portal said they were in 17 relief centres – eight in Segamat, six in Mersing and three in Batu Pahat.

In Pahang, the situation improved in flood-hit Rompin with only 67 victims from 17 families still at shelters compared to 567 people on Tuesday night.

A spokesman at the state police headquarters’ flood operations room in Kuantan said only two relief centres remained open in the district with the Teluk Gading public hall housing 52 victims while the rest were in the Kampung Gadak public hall.

“They cannot go home yet because their villages along the mouth of Sungai Pahang are at risk of the high tide phenomenon,” he said.

The spokesman added that among the affected villages were Kampung Mentara, Kampung Sarang Tiong and Kampung Gadak.

In Sabah, more flood victims in Kampung Gum Gum in Sandakan had been allowed to return to their homes and only 57 people remained in shelters compared to 351 evacuees on Tuesday night.

It was also reported that floodwaters had now spilled into Kampung Pinampadan in the sub-district of Paitan but no evacuation had been ordered yet.

The residents of Kampung Tangkarason, Tanjung Nipis, Maidan, Lingkabau and Simpangan in the area had also been placed on alert to be evacuated should the situation worsen. — Bernama

Malaysia: Floods Yet To Abate Significantly
Bernama 28 Dec 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 (Bernama) -- The floods that hit the states of Pahang, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak have yet to abate to an overall satisfactory level as of 11am Wednesday.

Sarawak still recorded the highest number of flood victims with a State flood operations room spokesman reporting that 3,999 people remained sheltered at 20 relief centres.

He said Samarahan had the highest number of evacuees at 3123 people from 743 families followed by Kuching (168 families/648 people), Sibu (30/128) and Sri Aman (32/100).

He told Bernama that there were indications that the water levels of the rivers responsible for the floods would drop but the authorities were only allowing evacuees to return to their homes on a case by case basis as it was feared king tides in the evening could cause the situation to deteriorate again.

The floods in low-lying areas in Sarawak have been attributed to the incessant heavy rain the last four days coupled with king tides at its major waterways.

In JOHOR, the situation improved slightly with 1,075 victims still housed at shelters this morning as compared to 1,177 last night.

The National Security Council's portal said they were sheltered at 17 relief centres, eight in Segamat, six in Mersing and three in Batu Pahat.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department's website also reported that the water levels of Sungai Muar at Bukit Kepong, Muar and Sungai Muar in Buloh Kasap, Segamat were recorded at 3.23 metres and 9.49 metres respectively at 10am today, both above the danger mark.

It was the same situation at four other rivers, with the level of Sungai Bekok at the Bekok Dam, Batu Pahat at 17.24 metres, Sungai Senggarang at Senggarang, Batu Pahat (3.25 metres), Sungai Simpang Kiri at Seri Medan, Batu Pahat (2.05 metres) and Sungai Muar at Kampung Awat, Segamat (19.37 metres).

In PAHANG, the situation was better in flood-hit Rompin with only 67 victims from 17 familes still at shelters this morning as compared to 567 people last night.

A spokesman at the Pahang police headquarters flood operations room in Kuantan said only two relief centres remained open in the district with the Teluk Gading public hall housing 52 victims while the Kampung Gadak public hall the rest.

"They cannot go home as yet because their villages along the mouth of Sungai Pahang are at risk of the high tide phenomenon," he said, adding that among the affected villages were Kampung Mentara, Kampung Sarang Tiong and Kampung Gadak.

In SANDAKAN, more flood victims in Kampung Gum-Gum have been allowed to return to their homes and only 57 people remained in shelters this morning compared to 351 evacuees last night.

It was also reported that floodwaters had now also spilled into Kampung Pinampadan in the sub-district of Paitan but no evacuation had taken place as yet.

The residents of Kampung Tangkarason, Tanjung Nipis, Maidan, Lingkabau and Simpangan in the area have also been placed on alert to be evacuated should the situation worsen.

Meanwhile, Km2.7 Jalan Off SPSP 1 Beluran still remained closed to light traffic and the public is advised to use Km6.3 Jalan Off SPSI as an alternative.

-- BERNAMA

Slight Improvement In Overall Flood Situation
Bernama 27 Dec 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 (Bernama) -- There was a slight improvement in the overall situation in flood-hit states in the country as at 11am Tuesday.

Of the flood-hit states, Johor still continued to record the highest number of victims.

According to the National Security Council's website, 1,214 victims still remained sheltered at relief centres in the three districts hit by floods in the state as compared to 1,236 last night.

The victims are sheltered at 18 relief centres, eight in Segamat, seven in Mersing and three in Batu Pahat.

The portal said the access road to Kampung Orang Asli Peta in the Endau National Park still remained cut off due to flooding and that the village was only accessible by boat and aircraft.

Meanwhile, in ROMPIN, Pahang, the number of flood victims sheltered at relief centres in the district dropped slightly, to 619 people this morning as compared to 625 last night.

A spokesman at the Pahang police headquarters flood operations room said 137 of them were being sheltered at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sarang Tiong, 430 at SK Pianggu and 52 at Dewan Teluk Gading .

He added that all other districts in Pahang were free of floods and that no casualties were reported.

In SABAH, a spokesman at the Sandakan Municipal Council's flood operations room said the situation in Kampung Gum-Gum in Sandakan had improved with only 194 flood victims from 73 families still sheltered at the Dewan Sri Gum-Gum relief centre this morning as compared to 351 last night.

In BELURAN, the water level at several of the main rivers in the district is reported to have reached their danger marks.

Beluran assistant district officer Roger Appolonius said residents at risk had been alerted to be prepared for evacuation.

Meanwhile, Km1.5 of Jalan SPSP 1 in the district still remains closed to all traffic after that part of the road became submerged last night.

-- BERNAMA