East Coast floods - Update

Yesterday, I posted about the monsoon and the floods that come with it. It seems the flood situation has turned for the worse as more areas in the country are being affected so much so New Year celebrations scheduled at Putrajaya and Perak have been cancelled.

The celebration in Putrajaya is supposed to be a planned mega new year celebration. The events have been cancelled in respect of the thousands affected by flood in several states.


Kemaman in Terengganu..

Kemaman is the worst affected of the districts, with 19,405 evacuees from 4,607 families.

The Star reported today that some 90,250 people have been evacuated as at 9am Thursday in five states ravaged by floods which are showing no sign of letting up.

Fifteen more stretches of road in Kelantan had been closed, raising to 37 the roads impassable to traffic due to the floods. In Kota Bharu, several patients at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital old wing were evacuated due to rising flood waters early Thursday.

In PAHANG, Kuantan had the highest number of evacuees at 14,350 from 4,119 families, now housed at 44 relief centres. The worst-hit districts are Kemaman followed by Dungun, Kuala Terengganu, Hulu Terengganu, Besut and Marang.

The Maran district has 2,744 evacuees at 17 centres; Jerantut, 2,478 at 34 centres; Lipis, 2,319 at 26 centres; Pekan, 1,402 at 18 centres; Temerloh, 649 at 15 centres; Rompin, 265 at four centres and Bera, 109 at four centres.

In PERAK, people moved out of their homes in the three districts of Kuala Kangsar, Hulu Perak and Perak Tengah rose to 4,335 from 1,079 families.

Deep trouble: A victim wading through floodwaters at Kampung Lembah Sireh in Kota Baru.

Hitting the roof: Taman Bukit Sirih residents surveying the flood situation using a float in Kuala Krai. — Bernama

The situation in most flood-hit states continues to worsen with the authorities warning of continuing heavy rain in the badly-hit states of Kelantan and Terengganu.

The Star reported that Kelantan is now only accessible via the Kuala Terengganu-Kota Baru trunk road and by air.

The other route to Kelantan through the East West Highway was closed to all traffic after part of the highway at the 65th kilometre near Puncak Titiwangsa collapsed.

The Gua Musang-Kuala Krai road has been closed to all traffic while the route from Padang Besar through Haadyai was also impassable due to the floods.

Elsewhere - In Sabah, the situation improved slightly with most of the evacuees allowed to return home yesterday morning.

In Perlis, there was not much change in the flood situation and 175 people were still seeking shelter at evacuation centres.

The 102 tourists trapped at the Mutiara Taman Negara Resort in Kuala Tahan heaved a sigh of relief when the Fire and Rescue Department arrived with much needed food supplies.

The department sent more than four boatloads of food supplies for the tourists and residents in the area. Safe and sound, the tourists would be transported by boat to relief centres in Kuala Tahan before being flown by helicopter to Jerantut town.

Apart from Malaysians, the tourists were from Germany, France, Canada and the Czech Republic.

Source: The Star