EMBUN MAJID New Straits Times 19 Jul 16;
ALOR STAR: The number of flood evacuees in Kedah increased to 409 people as at noon today, with five new relief centres opened this morning.
The number of evacuees in Yan district dropped to 148 people at three relief centres, after one centre was closed.
As for Kuala Muda, a total of 261 people were evacuated to four relief centres.
The four relief centres in Kuala Muda are Dewan Keda and Surau Kampung Tepi Sungai in Kota Kuala Muda, Surau Kampung Batu 15 at Jalan Jeniang, Surau Kampung Sungai Rotan and Surai Kampung Guar Stesen.
The affected areas in Yan are Kampung Titi Teras, Kampung Paya Mengkuang, Kampung Guar Stesen and also Yan town area.
The Kedah Disaster Management Department secretariat, in a statement, said 18 people staying at Surau Kampung Lubuk Boi were allowed to return home at 8am today.
Meanwhile, Yan district officer Mohd Yusri Md Daud when contacted said the office is still evaluating the damage due to flooding in the district.
He said so far the district office has received reports of road damage at Kampung Raga and also of fallen trees.
“We are still checking on a claim that part of the road leading to the top of Gunung Jerai has been closed off due to a landslide."
Over 200 flood victims in Kedah evacuated to relief centres
G.C. TAN The Star 19 Jul 16;
ALOR SETAR: Flash floods in Yan forced over 200 villagers to be evacuated to relief centres.
State Fire & Rescue Station public relations officer Nor Hafizah Mohammad Lukman said the Yan fire station received a distress call at about 5.48pm, Monday from villagers at Kampung Titi Teras, Guar Chempedak.
“Operations Commander Mohd Firdaus Isa with 10 firemen reached the village to carry out rescue and evacuations at 6.07pm.
“The villagers were evacuated to the temporary flood relief centre at Masjid Titi Teras in Guar Chempedak,” he said.
Yan District Police Chief Deputy Superintendent Police Muhd Halim said as at 8pm, Monday the number of people at the four flood relief centres were 18 at Surau Kg Lubuk Boi, 10 at Surau Nurul Huda Batu 18 1/2, 100 at Surau Teroi Bukit and 38 people at Masjid Titi Teras.
No casualties have been reported.
JKR says it is wary now after heavy rain drenched the state
The Star 20 Jul 16;
GEORGE TOWN: The sun was shining again but after being hit with 250mm of rainfall within hours, state authorities know that the monsoon was here in full swing.
State Public Works Department (JKR) Salleh Awang said it was wary now after heavy rain drenched the state from Monday to yesterday morning.
Over 20 JKR officers were on the field since yesterday afternoon, he said, checking on the integrity of slopes and roads.
Some boulders crashed down from uphill at dawn in Jalan Tun Sardon, the road to Balik Pulau town, and the department was paying attention to that slope.
“We had many calls and tweets from locals and we reacted quickly,” he said, adding that Penangites can call JKR at 04-2898888 or look up its Twitter account, JKRPulau Pinang.
The Meteorological Department’s latest forecast only shows isolated thunderstorms for Penang with clear skies for tomorrow and next Monday.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng visited the evacuation centre in Teluk Bahang to give flood relief contributions. Ten families of about 30 people were taken to the evacuation centre. All returned home by 3pm yesterday.
Statewide, 65 people from 26 families were evacuated and by 4.50pm, only the Teluk Kumbar flood relief centre remained open.
It was also a miserable time for about 600 dogs at the Penang Animal Welfare Society when floodwaters were waist-high at the sanctuary in Teluk Bahang.
The kennels were submerged and the dogs were quickly placed in the shelter’s buildings.
The storm winds of over 50km an hour forced pilots to circle Penang airport for over an hour while waiting for the gales to abate on Monday.
Many passengers pulled out the airsick bags and Star Media Group regional operations general manager (north) Simone Liong, who was on such a flight, said the plane shook as it circled round the island.
Her 8.55pm flight from Subang was delayed until 10.40pm.
“We circled for maybe 10 times. During the landing, everyone was tense,” she said, adding that the plane only touched down at 1am yesterday.
When contacted, an airline representative gave an assurance that all pilots were well trained to face storms.
“Every plane has enough fuel to reach the next airport in an emergency. For Penang, it will be Langkawi. When there is only enough fuel to reach Langkawi, the pilot will head there, refuel, and return to Penang,” he said.
Meanwhile, AirAsia Penang head Kenneth Tan called on Penang airport to compensate airlines or refund airport charges to passengers after the flooding on Monday.
In Kedah, 420 victims were taken to 10 flood relief centres in Baling, Kuala Muda and Yan.
Water was almost a metre high and Yan victims said it was their worst in 10 years.
More people evacuated in Kedah due to floods
The Star 21 Jul 16;
ALOR SETAR: The number of flood victims at flood relief centres in four districts in Kedah increased to 476 people as of 8am Thursday, from 385 Wednesday with six centres still open and 11 were closed.
State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat Major (PA) Imran Azemi said the flood victims comprised 132 families in Yan, Kuala Muda, Baling and Pendang districts.
The victims in the Yan district are given temporary shelter at Surau Kampung Batu 22 (79 people), Surau Kampung Teroi Bukit (117), Surau Kampung Sungai Lintang (62), Kampung Sungai Malai (44) and Dewan Shukor Yan (67), while the evacuation centres at Masjid Titi Teras, Surau Nurul Huda Batu 18 1/2, Surau Kampung Lubuk Boi and Surau Kampung Setar had been closed.
In Pendang, only the centre at Dewan Cenderawasih remained open with 107 people, from 31 families.
The other evacuation centres that had been closed are three in the Baling district, at Surau Kampung Seputeh, Surau Kampung Tawar and Dewan Orang Ramai Macang Bubuk, and four in Kuala Muda district (Dewan Keda and Surau Kampung Tepi Sungai, Surau Kampung Batu 5, Surau Kampung Sungai Rotan and Surau Kampung Guar Stesen) which were closed at noon yesterday. –
Bernama
