Flood victims edging up in Sabah, decrease in Pahang and Johor

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Another district in Sabah was hit by floods tonight and the number of victims evacuated to temporary relief centres increasing slightly, while the situation in Pahang and Johor is improving.

In SABAH, flood victims increased to 1,376 people (from 522 families) and are housed at eight centres, compared to 1,211 people (471 families) in the evening, with Telupid being the latest district hit resulting in 95 people (26 families) relocated to the centre at Dewan Kampung Bauto.

The Sabah State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Secretariat, in a statement, said Pitas recorded the highest number of victims with 1,152 people (450 families) placed at two centres, followed by Paitan (86 people from 35 families) at four centres and Lahad Datu (43 victims from 11 families) at one centre.

The Sabah SDMC also expects the number of evacuees in Paitan and Telupid to increase due to the continued rain, while the situation in Pitas and Lahad Datu is expected to remain the same.

In PAHANG, the flood situation in Rompin is improving and two centres were closed this evening, leaving only the centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Denai housing 27 victims (eight families) tonight.

The Pahang SDMC Secretariat reported that the two centres that were closed at 4 pm today were Kampung Setajam and Balai Raya Kampung Jawa, which had 171 and 21 victims respectively.

Meanwhile, Sungai Keratong in Rompin still remains above the danger level.

In JOHOR, flood victims decreased to 2,113 people as of 8 pm, compared with 2,157 people recorded at 4 pm today following the closure of a centre.

Johor SDMC said 22 centres are still operating in the Batu Pahat, Mersing, Kota Tinggi and Segamat districts.

Batu Pahat district still recorded the highest number of victims with 854 people, followed by Mersing (823 people), Kota Tinggi (344) and Segamat (92), according to a JBPN statement.

According to the weather forecast, Kulai and Kota Tinggi can expect rain tonight, with eight other districts cloudy, while the water level of Sungai Endau in Mersing is still at a dangerous level of 2.5 metres.

-- BERNAMA