Malaysia floods: Level 2 warning in parts of Pahang and Terengganu will be lifted if situation improves

Loh Foon Fong The Star 4 Dec 13;

PETALING JAYA: An orange alert warning has been issued by the Meteorological Department to parts of Pahang and Terengganu.

Its National Weather Forecast Centre director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the Level 2 orange warning, issued for Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin (in Pahang) and for Dungun and Kemaman (Terengganu) on Monday, could be lifted if the situation improved.

The yellow warning status indicates weather alert and to make people aware of the situation to take preventive action.

The orange status implies that those in affected areas should prepare themselves to take action in the event of worsening condition.

The red status alert means severe weather warning and people need to take action to protect themselves – this could mean moving families out of the danger zone temporarily.

The department issued its heavy rain advisory orange warning on Monday, saying that intermittent and moderate rain would persist until yesterday and this would cause floods in low-lying areas.

Helmi said floods were the result of heavy rains made worse by high tide.

He said the northeastern monsoon started in November and would end in the third week of March next year but the wettest season would be from November to February.

The monsoon started to hit Kelantan and Terengganu last month and would hit the western and middle parts of Sarawak, from Kuching to Bintulu, later this month, he said.

The monsoon would then hit the eastern parts of Sabah – Sandakan and Kudat – in January, he said.

He said the public could call the department’s central number 03-7967 8116 or the numbers listed for each state on its website.


One dead, one missing as floods hit three states
The Star 4 Dec 13;

KUALA LUMPUR: The wet times are here again with heavy rain and floods sweeping through several parts of the country, leaving parts of Pahang, Terengganu and Johor badly hit.


A 17-year-old boy is feared to have drowned while a child has been reported missing due to the floods that have hit Kemaman district in Terengganu.

Kemaman MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the boy was believed to have drowned in Kampung Padang Kubu, Kijal, yesterday.

Another child is also feared missing following a rip tide in Kijal.

More than 1,000 victims from 483 families are now staying at 27 flood evacuation centres in the district.

Five districts in Pahang are floode­d, affecting more than 7,000 people.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said 51 relief centres had been opened up statewide with 3,303 evacuees in Rompin, followed by Kuantan (2,791), Maran (1,111), Pekan (435) and Jerantut (62).

“The rainfall volume in the past few days has reached 400mm daily, which is equivalent to half a month’s rain,” he said after chairing a special meeting with the National Security Council here yesterday.

Kuantan OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Jasmani Yusoff advised the public to call the Pahang disaster operations centre at 09-514 3799.

In Johor Baru, a bridge connecting Kampung Sekijang to Felda Pemanis and Kampung Tungku Tiga in Sekijang collapsed on Monday night following continuous rainfall.

Sekijang MP Anuar Abd Manap said the bridge was mainly used by small-time farmers to transport their goods.

As of 3pm yesterday, 5,555 people have been evacuated.

The worst-hit areas are Mersing and Segamat, while the other areas are Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Muar and Batu Pahat.

Many people, however, are refusing to move to evacuation centres although the flood situation is worsen­ing in Johor.

Retiree Damerah Chaiman, 65, said the last major flood at her house in Kampung Gembut in Sedili here was in January.

“I do get worried when it rains for long periods, but people here just place our belongings on higher shelves and just go about our daily lives,” she added.

Lorry driver Ahmad Ramli, 45, whose wooden house was flooded, also said his family preferred to wait.

“Floods are common for us and hopefully the waters will recede,” he said.

Slight improvement in Johor flood situation
Yee Xiang Yun The Star 4 Dec 13;

JOHOR BARU: Some 1,512 families in Mersing are still unable to go home, with 5,441 flood victims still at 21 relief centres there.

However, the flood situation in other parts of Johor improved slightly with seven relief centre closed and 46 still operating statewide as at 8am Wednesday.

Other than Mersing, 1,703 victims from 431 families were still at 18 centres in Segamat (306 families), three in Kota Tinggi (40), two in Kluang (30), one in Muar (52) and one as well in Batu Pahat (3).

Rain has stopped in the Johor Baru area but districts like Kota Tinggi and Kluang are still experiencing drizzles.

Floods worsen, claim 1st victim
M Hamzah Jamaluddin and Fazrol Nasir New Straits Times 4 Dec 13;

GRIM: 18,000 evacuated, relief centres filling up fast

KUALA LUMPUR: SOME 18,000 people have been evacuated in Pahang, Johor and Terengganu as floodwaters claimed its first victim.

Water levels in several areas in the three states continued to rise as the number of victims continued to increase since Monday.

Relief centres in affected areas began filling up in tandem with the number of flood victims evacuated.

In Kuantan, flooding in the state worsened yesterday with more than 9,000 people evacuated to 69 relief centres here, Rompin, Maran, Pekan and Jerantut.

State police flood operations centre spokesman said as at 8pm, Kuantan was the worst-hit district with 3,672 evacuees followed by Rompin (3,249), Maran (1,124), Pekan (932) and Jerantut (62).

Several stretches were closed, including Jalan Kuantan-Sungai Lembing at Sungai Charu bridge, Km36 of Jalan Gambang Lama, Km16 of Jalan Nenasi-Pekan.

Due to a landslide, the stretch at Km72 of Jalan Kuantan-Segamat was closed to all vehicles.
The situation in the state capital turned chaotic as water rose to 1.5m in several areas, causing traffic jams that left hundreds of motorists stranded for hours.

"We left our relative's home in Kempadang at noon, but had to take shelter at a petrol station when part of Jalan Gambang was flooded," said Norhayati Hassan,40, whose family of four were on their way back to Kuala Kangsar.

When the water subsided slightly at 5pm, the family decided to return to their relative's home as they were afraid that the floods may worsen later.

Several colleges ceased operations when the water rose fast, resulting in some of their students stranded in the buildings for several hours.

Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad advised people to be patient and take steps in case the floods worsened.

"People must follow the advice given by the authorities. The intensity of rain is more than usual, resulting in the water rising in just a few hours," he said after visiting the flood victims at Sekolah Menengah Abdul Rahman Talib here.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the 400mm of rainfall within 24 hours since Sunday was equivalent to 15 days of rain.

He also advised people to maintain hygiene levels to ensure they did not contract water-borne and soil-related diseases such as leptospirosis and Burkholderia cepacia.

In Johor, more flood relief centres opened in several districts in the state to house the increasing number of victims.

As of 8pm yesterday, the National Security Council portal recorded 5,659 victims evacuated to 42 relief centres state-wide.

Muar and Kota Tinggi are the two additional districts to be flooded.

The districts to first evacuate flash flood victims were Mersing, Segamat and Kahang, after non-stop rain since Sunday.

In Kampung Sekijang, Segamat, a bridge used by the villagers to cross over Sungai Segamat was swept away by raging waters.

However, there were no injuries reported and the 30 families from the village are using an alternative route.

Segamat evacuated 1,116 victims to its eight relief centres, Kluang has 187 victims in three centres and Kota Tinggi has 74 victims in two centres.

Muar has 35 people evacuated from their homes and Mersing has 4,247 in 18 relief centres.

In Kemaman, a teenager was the first flood victim after he fell into Sungai Plantoh near Air Putih here on Monday.

District police chief Superintendent Che Suza Che Hitam said the victim, Mohd Ashraff Mohd Noor, 17, a Form Five student, went fishing with his father and an elder brother in a boat.
Kemaman is the hardest-hit district with 1,842 people from 454 families evacuated to 29 relief centres.

The floods in Terengganu worsened with 2,811 people evacuated in Kemaman, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu as of 8.30pm yesterday.