Malaysia: Almost 60 people evacuated as flood waters rise in Perak

INTAN BAHA New Straits Times 3 Dec 16;

IPOH: Two flood evacuation centres were opened in two districts at Kampung Pengkalan Ara, Sungai Manik; and in Kampung Padang Serai, Pantai Remis, near here involving 59 people from 14 families, who were evacuated as of 6pm today.

The flood, triggered due to non-stop rain since yesterday, caused water to rise up to 0.4 metres in both villages.

At Kampung Padang Serai 21 residents from five families were evacuated to the temporary evacuation centre at Sekolah Rendah Agama Rakyat Kampung Padang Serai, which was opened at 11pm last night. Meanwhile, the evacuation centre at SK Pengkalan Ara, Sungai Manik was opened at 1pm, housing 38 victims from nine families.

Pantai Remis Fire and Rescue Department chief Amir Ahmad said the victims at Kampung Padang Serai vacated their homes last night when the water level rose.

“The flood was due to incessant rain which started in the evening until late night yesterday. The water has yet to recede this morning.

“The victims involved nine men and 12 women from five families,” he said. Meanwhile, a Disaster Management state secretariat spokesman said that in Kampung Pengkalan Ara, Sungai Manik, 38 residents from nine families were evacuated to the temporary evacuation centre. “They comprised 14 men, 13 women and eleven children.

“Various agencies are monitoring the flood situation. Everything is under control for now,” he said.

MARANG: Continuous heavy rainfall since Tuesday has forced Terengganu fishermen to stay ashore this week due to the choppy waters.

As a result, a sharp drop in the supply of fresh catch has forced fishermongers to take the opportunity to hike the price of frozen fish or fish from aquaculture farms.

Checks at the Marang jetty here showed that it is dotted with fishing vessels as most fishermen are taking the 'monsoon leave' and would only return to the sea when the
weather has improved.

Fisherman Hamed Hamzah Awang, 57, said all fishermen would adhere to the weather report from the Meteorological Department first before going to sea.

He said the weather forecast this week was quite negative due to heavy rainfall which was posing a potential hazard to fishermen.

"The monsoon came a bit late this year. Since the heavy rains this week coincided with the start of school holiday, I take the opportunity to bring my children to buy
new attire in the city," he said when met at the jetty.

Another fisherman, Ibrahim Safuan, 49, who returned from the sea on Wednesday said the waves were as high as five metres and the catch was also little.

He said it was too risky and not worth the price of fuel to go to the sea.

Checks at the Pulau Kambing and Pasar Payang fish market showed only limited fish available, which are mainly frozen fish or that from aquaculture farms.

Medium-sized grouper is tagged at RM30 per kilogramme while snapper and sea bass are sold at RM20 per kg.

For frozen sardine and kembong, it is priced from RM8 per kg for small fish.

State Fisheries Department director Zawawi Ali urged all fishermen to refer to the fisheries officers in every coastal districts for weather information before going out to the seas.

He said the sea conditions at present could pose danger to small and medium fishing vessels.

Meanwhile in KOTA BARU, the number of displaced people in Kelantan now stood at 42, with two new centres being opened in Bachok district.

Evacuees at the SK Wakaf Raja in Pasir Putih, which was the first centre opened yesterday remained at 26 people while the new centres at SMK Jelawat in Gunong and SMK
Beris Panchor in Tawang four and 12 people respectively, according to the Kelantan e-banjir portal website.

As at noon, four people from two families have been placed at SMK Jelawat and 12 people from four families were sheltering at SMK Beris Panchor.

The water level at all measuring points in the state showed a rising trend, with Golok river at Rantau Panjang recording 8.96m, just below the danger level of 9m.


Terengganu fishermen grounded due to monsoon, prices of fish rising
SIM BAK HENG AND SULAIMAN JAAFAR New Straits Times 3 Dec 16;

River swallows T'ganu bridge, 200 villagers cut off
ZARINA ABDULLAH New Straits Times 2 Dec 16;

SETIU: The overflowing Setiu river inundated a bridge in Kampung Seri Bayas here last night, effectively cutting off residents of the village from the outside world.

Heavy rains yesterday caused the river's water level to rise dramatically, exceeding the height of the bridge by up to two metres. 200 villagers from 70 families are now disconnected and isolated from other districts.

Setiu Civil Defence Department officer Mohd Nazri Zakaria said the river's water level began rising steadily at midnight.

Nazri said the villagers have not been evacuated, but personnel from the department are on standby and monitoring the situation very closely.


Floods inundate village, rest of Terengganu brace for heavy rainfall
SIM BAK HENG New Straits Times 2 Dec 16;

DUNGUN: Twenty people from five families were evacuated to a flood relief centre at Dewan Kampung Cacar Baru in Paka here as their village was inundated by knee-high flood waters.

Heavy rainfall since early morning caused massive flooding in the village, which is just about two kilometres from the coast.

National Disaster Management Agency (Dungun) spokesman Ramlan Ros Wahid said the centre opened at 11.30am after flood waters kept rising at the houses of affected villagers.

"Rain water had been accumulating at the low-lying village for days. It has nothing to do with the tides.

"We will continue to monitor the situation before allowing the villages to go back," he said.

This is the only centre which is open in the state. Meanwhile, the Kuala Terengganu City Council has hired contract workers to clean up all clogged drains in flood-prone areas in the city as a proactive measure to prevent floods in future.

A council spokesman urged the people to stop disposing garbage into drains, as this would exacerbate flooding problems.

"We have cleared quite a number of clogged drains so far, and hope this will do away with the flash flood problem," he said.