P. Aruna, Ong Han Sean, Nick Naizi Husin, Syed Azhar, Yee Xiang Yun, Shaun Ho and Carmen Hon The Star 5 Dec 13;
PETALING JAYA: The floods have worsened in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan, with no quick reprieve in sight due to the high tide and rough seas, warned the Meteorological Department.
Insufficient drainage infrastructure is compounding the situation, according to the Drainage and Irrigation Department.
Pahang is the worst hit, with almost 20,000 people evacuated to 73 relief centres in five districts as of 5pm yesterday. A spokesman of the state flood operations centre said Kuantan alone had more than 12,000 people at 46 relief centres.
Water and electricity supplies were cut off in most areas in Kuantan yesterday after several substations were hit by floods and roads in the city were inundated by up to 1m of water.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who is in charge of the National Security Council, told the Dewan Rakyat that rescue operations went into full swing on Tuesday.
“A helicopter was dispatched to Kuantan to help in operations and I will be heading there myself later today (Wednesday),” he said.
Although rainfall is expected to lessen in the four states, the National Weather Forecast Centre of the Meteorological Department said yesterday it would take a few days for the flood waters to subside as the tide was now at its peak of about 4.5m high.
Its director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah added: “We do not expect the floods to get worse but they will take some time to subside – at least another two or three days.”
On Tuesday, the Meteorological Department issued a Level 2 orange warning for five areas in Pahang and Terengganu due to heavy rains.
Yesterday, the orange warning was extended to eight towns in three states – Kuantan, Rompin, Pekan and Maran (in Pahang), Dungun, Kemaman and Hulu Terengganu (Terengganu) and Kuala Krai (Kelantan).
The yellow warning, which is a weather alert to make people aware of the situation and take preventive action, was issued to 17 other areas, including Hulu Perak on the west coast.
The orange status is to warn those in affected areas to prepare to act if the situation worsens while the red status, which is the highest alert, is a warning for severe weather and to take immediate action.
These warnings, issued by the Meteorological Department, are only based on the rainfall pattern and not on the level of flooding.
Although Johor is still seeing worsening floods, the orange alert for the state has been lifted as rainfall has lessened.
The DID’s river basin and coastal management division director Datuk Lim Chow Hock said uncontrolled land clearing and rapid development were the reasons the floods seemed to be getting worse every year.
“The land cleared for housing and commercial purposes increases every year. Unfortunately, the development of drainage infrastructure is not able to keep up to that pace,” he said.
In a state of crisis
New Straits Times 5 Dec 13;
KUALA LUMPUR: THE situation in Pahang remained grim as the number of flood evacuees in the state have increased -- as well as in Terengganu, Kelantan and Johor -- to nearly 34,000 victims.
As of yesterday evening, it was reported that the number of evacuees stood at 19,748 victims in Pahang, Terengganu (5,115), Johor (8,402) and Kelantan (639).
Kelantan was the latest state to be hit by floods, with state authorities informing residents in low-lying areas to brace themselves and to take precautionary measures.
However, electricity and water supply, which has been disrupted since Tuesday, were currently being restored in stages.
In light of the situation, the Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued an orange-level warning of continuous heavy rainfall in several areas of Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu until today. It said heavy rains, with intermittent moderate rain, were forecast for Kuala Krai in Kelantan; Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin and Maran in Pahang; and Dungun, Kemaman and Hulu Terengganu in Terengganu.
It also issued a yellow-level warning of heavy rains for the same period in Jerantut, Pahang; Besut, Setiu, Kuala Terengganu and Marang in Terengganu; Tumpat, Kota Baharu, Pasir Mas, Tanah Merah, Machang, Pasir Puteh and Bachok in Kelantan; Sik, Baling and Padang Terap in Kedah; and Hulu Perak, Perak. The rains are expected to cause floods in low-lying areas.
In Kuantan, the situation remained chaotic as the state capital and surrounding areas were left paralysed by the lack of electricity and water supplies, which have been disrupted since Tuesday.
Phone lines and mobile coverage were also erratic, adding to the confusion and preventing evacuees from getting in touch with their loved ones.
Many businesses here remained closed because of lack of power and communications services, which have since been restored in stages starting from about 3pm yesterday.
As at 10pm yesterday, more than 22,395 flood evacuees were recorded in the state, with 14,004 evacuees placed at 69 relief centres here.
The figure was higher than the 3,672 evacuees recorded on Tuesday. Rompin recorded the second highest number of flood victims at 4,144, followed by Pekan (3,061), Maran (1,005) and Jerantut (6).
Evacuees placed at shelters complained about the lack of food, drinking water and other amenities, especially in Sungai Isap, Permatang Badak, Bukit Rangin and Chenderawasih near here.
"We have no food and could not get a single drop of water the whole day," said Johana Mohd Taib, whose family of four were relocated to SM Bukit Rangin at 10am yesterday.
The 42-year-old housewife said the floodwaters rose up to 2m high at her home, adding that many homes in the vicinity had been submerged.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the state government had requested that army and General Operations Force camps be turned into flood relief centres because of the high number of evacuees.
"We plan to have a centralised kitchen where we can prepare meals for the victims. It will ensure that sufficient food can be sent to relief centres, with the help of armed forces personnel," said Adnan, who helped send a pregnant woman and her two children to the centre in Sungai Isap.
It is learnt that the flood situation was among the worst in Kuantan's history, with some districts being inundated for the first time.
The last time Kuantan faced a major displacement of people was in 2007 when 5,730 people were evacuated.
Berita Harian stringer Ainal Marhaton Abdul Ghani said her family was moved to SK Kampung Belukar after their home in Kampung Kurnia was flooded.
"My husband is down with fever and there was nothing much we could do, as the food is insufficient and we cannot charge our handphones," she said before her phone went dead at noon yesterday.
In response to the floods, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim called on individuals and non-governmental organisations to assist flood victims.
"(We do) not have enough volunteers in relief centres to help sick victims and the elderly. We need them to help relocate victims during the evacuation," she said after inspecting the relief centre at SK Pandan here yesterday.
Two people were believed to be missing after they fell into floodwaters in Sungai Isap, Kuantan.
The two were in the midst of shifting their household belongings when they fell from their fibreglass boat at 8.30pm. The two victims are Jamal Ali, in his 40's, a Pekan Umno committee member, and his son, known only as Megat.
The incident was confirmed by Kuantan police chief Assistant Commissioner of Police Mohd Jasmani Yusoff.
Lipis was the latest district in Pahang to be hit by floods, bringing the total number of districts affected to six.
In Johor Baru, the number of victims as at noon yesterday has increased to 8,705 from 8,205, the bulk of whom had been relocated to 49 relief centres throughout the state. The 49 centres are in Kota Tinggi (three), Kluang (five), Mersing (21), Segamat (18) and one each in Batu Pahat and Muar.
Seven roads have been closed to traffic, including Jalan Semaloi, Lopuk Melikai, Jalan Teluk Lipat and Jalan Aris in Mersing.
Also affected were Jalan Johor Baru-Mersing near Kota Tinggi, which is not accessible to light vehicles, while Jalan Japi-Bukit Tempurung and Jalan Felda Meloi in Segamat are closed.
The majority of the 57,090 students taking the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations in 382 centres state-wide would not be affected by the floods.
Johor Education director Mohd Nor A. Ghani said the department's only concern were students and invigilators at SMK Nitar in Mersing. He said the school was accessible only to heavy vehicles.
"Special arrangements will have to be made for those going to SMK Nitar."
Johor Taman Negara director Suhairi Hashim said 67 residents of Kampung Orang Asli Peta in Endau and seven staff of the Endau-Rompin National Park were evacuated due to rising water levels.
The road leading to the national park has been closed since Nov 1.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the state government, working with the National Security Council, had opened a state flood operations room, which would be operational round the clock.
Khaled also urged parents and guardians to watch their children with care during this season.
In Kuala Terengganu, the number of people evacuated in Kemaman, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu has swelled to 5,393 as at 10pm yesterday. Kemaman still topped the list, with 2,961 evacuees from 729 families seeking shelter at 37 relief centres.
Multimedia and Communication Minister and Kemaman Umno deputy chief Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek and several Umno Youth delegates to the Umno general assembly in Kuala Lumpur rushed back to Kemaman to help the relief work there. Shabery's deputy, Datuk Jailani Johari, who is also Hulu Terengganu Umno chief, rushed back from the general assembly yesterday afternoon, as the number of flood evacuees in the district rose to 1,106.
In Dungun, 1,035 people from 269 families took shelter at 11 evacuation centres. Flood-hit areas in Dungun have been confined to the interior, such as Kampung Pasir Raja, Kampung Balai Besar, Kampung Rantau Panjang and Kampung Nyior.
Flood waters have caused the Kuala Jengai police station here to be cut off since yesterday.
Deputy state police chief Datuk Hamzah Mohd Jamil said all important documents and equipment were loaded onto a mobile police station near SK Kuala Jengai.
"We anticipated that the 59-year-old station would be affected by the floods and had started moving our equipment two months ago."
Hamzah said the rising floodwaters had not deterred policemen from carrying out their duties, as 15 policemen from the Kuala Jengai station and 10 from state headquarters were on standby for the relief operation.
Marang was the latest district to be affected by floods.
In Kota Baru, the first group of 639 flood victims in the state was evacuated from Kuala Krai and Gua Musang yesterday.
Six evacuation centres in Kuala Krai have been opened: the district's veterinary office, SK Banggol Guchil, SK Manek Urai Lama, SMK Laloh, SRJK (China) Yuk Chai and SM Teknik Kuala Krai.
A spokesman said the victims were mostly from Kampung Guchil, Manek Urai Lama, Mengkebang and Olak Jeram.
In Gua Musang, 101 people were evacuated from Paloh to two centres in the area.
Water at three flood-measuring stations in the state were above the danger level as at 6pm.
The water level of Sungai Lebir in Tualang, Kuala Krai was 35.88m (danger level 35m) and Sungai Kelantan measured 25.43m (25m danger level) at the Krai Steps and 16.65 m (16m danger level) at the Guillemard bridge in Tanah Merah.
The water level of Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang was 8.93m, just below the danger level of 9m.
Three roads in Kuala Krai have been closed to light vehicles. They are the Bukit Sireh-Kampung Bedal-Kuala Nal road at Kampung Bukit Sireh, the Guchil-Batu Balai road at Batu Balai and Sungai Durian-Chenulang road at Chenulang.
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