Daily Express 30 Dec 13;
KEMAMAN: In Malaysia, the perennial flood has always been associated with the East Coast states, especially Terengganu and Kelantan.
In fact, since early 1950's it had become an annual affair for the two states to suffer from the year-end monsoon floods.
However in recent years, other states such as Johor, Kedah, Perlis and Perak also had their fair shares of inundation, causing losses that ran into millions of ringgit.
One of the major floods to hit the country must be the big floods of Johor in 2006 where more than 90,000 people evacuated, which also affected Pahang, involving the districts of the Pekan and Rompin with more than 20,000 victims relocated to safer grounds. This year, Pahang and Terengganu bore the brunt of the natural calamity.
Earlier this month, more than 40,000 people were evacuated due to floods in Pahang, especially in Kuantan.
In Kemaman, Terengganu, flood evacuees at relief centres numbered around 20,000. On Dec 2, only 133 people from Kampung Teladas and Air Puteh in Kuantan were affected by floods, but the number rose dramatically to 1,000 people the next day and later, 8,000 victims had to be moved into evacuation centres.
The flood in Kemaman, on the other hand, reached its peak on Dec 7 when more than 19,000 evacuees at relief centres had to endure a period of incommunicado when all roads were closed and communication with outsiders was not possible.
The big flood literally paralysed Kemaman as power lines had to be disconnected for safety.
The district was said to have been hit by the worst flood in 50 years.
Even the areas on higher grounds such as Felda Neram Satu, Cheneh, Binjai and Geliga were not spared.
Apart from that, police stations, fire and rescue stations, schools and clinics in those areas also went under 1.5 metres of water.
At that time, military trucks and boats had to be mobilised to evacuate victims to relief centres.
Kemaman police chief Supt Che Suza Che Hitam said there were more than 50 cases on flood victims refusing to evacuate to safer places.
On Dec 4, six flood volunteers were almost drowned after their boat capsized when they were on their way to Kampung Seberang Tayor.
They had to hang on to the boat for their dear lives for 15 minutes before help arrived.
It was undeniable that uniform personnel, such as police, army, fire and rescue squad, as well as nurses, had given outstanding performance and went beyond the call of duty for the community during this trying time.
In this regard, Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek was highly impressed with the patience of Kemaman residents during the floods.
Ahmad Shabery, who is also Kemaman member of Parliament, said it was hoped that the people would be better prepared for the disaster after this chapter.
"The arrival of thousands of security forces personnel and volunteers from non-governmental organisations to help flood victims in Terengganu showed Malaysians have also always shared their concerns for their fellow countrymen in times of difficulty," he said. - Bernama
Orange alert in 4 divisions
Fazleena Aziz New Straits Times 31 Dec 13;
HEAVY RAIN: Najib expresses concern for Sarawak flood victims
KUALA LUMPUR: PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday offered his prayers and concern for those affected by floods in Sarawak.
"I pray that Allah will ease and relieve flood victims in Bintulu, Miri and other parts of the state of the burden," said Najib in his Twitter post.
The Meteorological Department has issued an Orange alert for divisions of Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Mukah as heavy rain is expected to continue until today.
Its weather forecast centre director, Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, said despite the moderate intensity, the condition would cause floods in low-lying areas due to continuous rain.
"We have issued a Yellow alert for divisions of Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri, which is expected to persist until tomorrow (today) as well as there are intermittent rain.
"High tide is also expected until Jan 6, which can be a contributing factor should the condition worsens in the affected places."
Helmi said the weather was looking good in the east coast but rough seas condition had been issued for all the coastal areas in the country.
In the South China Sea, strong winds and rough seas have been upgraded to third category, with winds over 60kph and waves more than 5.5 metres occurring in the waters off Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor. This is expected to continue until today.
The department has also issued thunderstorm warning occurring in the waters off Sarawak, Labuan and Sabah (Kudat and Sandakan) yesterday.
In Kuching, Bernama reports that landslides triggered by heavy rain for almost a week have cut off road links to several areas in the Miri and Mukah divisions.
The road link between a settlement in the Bakong sub-district and Miri had been cut off, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said after chairing a meeting of the state Disaster Relief Committee.
He said the Public Works Department was clearing the roads of rubble to make them passable again.
Jabu said incessant rain had caused Sungai Batang Baram in Miri Division and Sungai Batang Kemena in Bintulu Division to burst their banks and flood low-lying areas.
"The committee, with the assistance of the relevant departments and agencies, has sent aid to the affected people."
Jabu said the heavy rain was common during the north-east monsoon season and this had caused a rise in the average rainfall recorded for the whole of the month. He said the situation was expected to continue until March.
The committee said 261 people from 60 households had been moved to relief centres in Miri and Bintulu divisions.
The Bintulu division had the highest number of evacuees at 222, followed by the Niah sub-district in Miri (34) and Marudi, also in Miri, (five).
