Expect Deluge Of Lowland Next In Kedah Due To River And Dam Overflow - Sanusi

ALOR SETAR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The floods that are currently hitting Kedah are expected to spread to several other areas in the near future following the overflow of water from rivers and dams, said Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.

According to him, although the skies are clearing up today, incessant rain over the past two days has caused the upstream areas to be flooded to the brim where the overflow will naturally go downstream.

"I expect that even though the rain has stopped, after raining for two days and two nights ... there is an overflow of water from the dams and rivers, some temporary evacuation centres have been opened, the flood water will find its own course downstream (low areas).

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"After this, maybe Pokok Sena, Alor Setar, Kuala Kedah (will be affected by floods), currently Sik and Padang Terap (hit by floods and) are in the upstream but soon it will reach the lower (areas) as well," he told reporters after the Kedah State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.

He said in order to deal with the possibility of floods in lowland, all district officers who chair the disaster operations control centre (PKOB) in their respective districts have been asked to be ready for flood management as they did when floods occurred two months ago.

Muhammad Sanusi also advised people living in areas at risk of flooding to be careful and move to temporary evacuation centres if instructed to do so.

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In the meantime, the Jeneri state assemblyman also hopes that several Flood Mitigation Plan (RTB) projects in the state can be implemented according to schedule to solve flood woes, especially in some critical districts.

"Many RTBs are not ready yet, the Pendang district is quite critical, I hope the RTB project in that district goes according to schedule because when the water rises in Pendang, it forms a stagnated pool ('banjir termenung')," he said.

Earlier, while wrapping up the Kedah Budget 2025 debate at the Kedah state assembly meeting, Muhammad Sanusi thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for supporting Hyundai Motor's huge (RM2 billion) investment to set up a plant in Kulim.

"We support Hyundai Motor's entry, we thank the federal government, they (Hyundai Motor) were unsure where to be located, so welcome to Kulim, no matter who (the investor may be) this is a welcome move," he said.

-- BERNAMA