Landslides, road closures - two die due to floods Sunday

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3  -- The flood situation in the country has worsened as the disaster has killed at least two people, and report of an individual feared to have drowned after being swept away by strong currents.

In addition, several roads have been closed due to flooding, apart from the continuous heavy rain which has caused landslides, severely disrupting those with plans to travel home from holiday or moving from one place to another.

Several cities and towns have also started to experience floods, such as Kuantan and Maran in Pahang and also Kluang and Kota Tinggi in Johor, resulting in disruption to the daily activities of the community.

There are also videos, taken by netizens and shared on social media applications, showing attempts by motorcyclists to navigate the floods, but ending up with their vehicles washed away by strong currents.

Following this, the police reminded and advised road users not to take such risks to avoid untoward incidents.

The first tragedy struck in Kluang, Johor, yesterday, when a local woman, Halijah Majid, 59, was found drowned after falling into a two-metre deep monsoon drain in Jalan Setia, Kampung Contoh.

Today, five-year-old Muhamad Amsyar Mohd Zamri was drowned after he slipped and fell into Sungai Jerong Bikam in Sungkai, Perak after being found playing at the river bank in heavy rain.

Apart from that, Md Rajihan Junaidi, 28, was feared drowned after he went missing after a Proton Waja car he was driving was swept away by the current in an incident at Batu 18, Jalan Batu Pahat-Mersing, Kahang near Kluang, Johor, yesterday.

Meanwhile, heavy rains continued, causing some roads in Pahang to be closed due to landslides or flooding.

Raub district police chief Supt Kama Azural Mohamed said that Jalan Raub-Bukit Fraser (Fraser’s Hill) was closed to all vehicles this afternoon due to two landslides, at KM4 and KM6, which caused the route to be obstructed by piles of soil and fallen trees.

It was a harrowing experience for travelers in 13 vehicles which were stranded between the two landslides in the 1.30 pm incident; the victims were gradually evacuated back to Fraser’s Hill on foot by crossing the obstructed area.

According to the police, there were no casualties but the victims had to leave their vehicles at the scene and were asked to take shelter at the Fraser’s Hill district council hall for the time being.

Another route that was closed due to a landslide was the old Jalan Bentong-Raub in Pahang, while flooding at KM198 closed the East Coast Highway Phase 1 (LPT1) between Gambang and Sri Jaya in Kuantan. The highway was reopened to all vehicles at 3.30 pm.

At least 15 roads in Pahang were closed due to flooding, which included Jalan Jerantut-Maran, Jalan Padang Piol-Sungai Rentang, Jalan Kota Gelanggi and Jalan Ulu Retang to Merting.

The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), in a statement today, said that as at 4 pm, a total of 76 relief centres were opened in 14 districts nationwide.

Its Corporate Communications head Nur Daliza Dohat said that the centres include 25 in Pahang and 51 in Johor, which housed 7,070 people from 1,886 families.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) also issued a dangerous weather warning, with continuous very heavy rain expected in Pahang (Jerantut, Temerloh, Maran, Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) and Johor (Mersing) until tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA