MIRI, 2 Jan 2018:
Flooding prevented 330 pupils from three primary schools in Sarawak from attending their first day of the new school year today.
Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee said in a statement issued at 8am that the schools were Uma Sambap National School (SK) in Belaga and SK Beliau Ahad and SK Rumah Essau, both in Subis.
“SK Uma Sambap, which has 158 pupils, 15 teachers and nine administrative staff, is currently being cleaned up.”
According to the statement, the road leading to SK Beliau Ahad was cut off by the floods and the water level was rising.
“SK Rumah Essau, with 55 pupils, 10 teachers and two administrative staff, was closed because the access road and the surrounding areas were flooded.”
In JOHOR, 93 families – comprising 373 people from Mersing and Kota Tinggi – were transferred to nine relief centres this morning, following floods which hit the districts yesterday.
Johor Health, Environment, Education and Information Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat said that as at 8am, the affected areas in Mersing were Taman Nakhoda, Air Papan, Kampung Tanjung Genting, Kampung Tenglu Besar, Kampung Kelantan, Kampung Air Tawar, Kampung Pengkalan, Kampung Air Merah and Kampung Jemari.
In Kota Tinggi, he said, the flood-hit areas were Kampung Bukit Raja and Kampung Sungai Buntu.
“We have opened seven relief centres in Mersing, at the Taman Nakhoda community hall, Sekolah Kebangsaan Air Papan, Sekolah Kebangsaan Tenglu, Kampung Benaung multipurpose hall, Endau Area Farmers Organisation Authority, Pengkalan Batu community hall and Kampung Air Merah community hall to shelter 339 people from 84 families,” he said in a statement.
Ayub said two relief centres were opened in Kota Tinggi, at Sekolah Kebangsaan Telok Ramunia and the Sungai Buntu surau, to house 34 people from nine families.
He said it was raining in Mersing as at 8am and, as such, the flood situation would continue to be monitored in the two districts by various agencies including the Civil Defence Force, the police, village development and security committees and the Drainage and Irrigation Department.
In PAHANG, the number of flood victims in Pahang rose to 445 this morning after Rompin became the latest district to be affected by the floods.
Pahang Civil Defence Force director Col (PA) Zainal Yusof said 349 people from 95 families were evacuated to five relief centres in Rompin.
The Telok Gading community hall in Tanjung Gemok housed 15 people from five families; the Kampung Setajam flood relief centre, 148 people from 38 families; the Kampung Pianggu community hall, 42 people from 14 families; Sekolah Menengah Pontian Jaya, 94 people from 26 families and the Sepayang community hall, 50 people from 12 families, he said.
The number of evacuees in the Kuantan district, meanwhile, rose to 96 people from 35 families, up from the 34 people from 14 families last night.
Zainal said two more relief centres had been opened, one at the Kampung Paya Bungor community hall (housing seven people from two families) and the other at the Kampung Kurnia Drainage and Irrigation Department hall (housing 12 people from four families).
The other two centres, at the Sri Damai community hall and Pandan 2 community hall, housed 36 people from 16 families and 41 people from 13 families, respectively.
In TERENGGANU, the number of flood victims in the Dungun district rose to 233 from 79 families as at 8am today compared to 55 people (20 families) last night.
According to the Flood Information portal, another temporary relief centre was opened in the district at Surau Besol Lama to house one victim.
The highest increase in the number of flood victims was at the Kampung Shukor community hall, with 155 people (47 families) compared to 49 (16 families) previously.
The Pasir Raja community hall is currently housing 77 people (31 families) compared to six (four families) last night.
Meanwhile, according to a Drainage and Irrigation Department report as at 7.30am today, the level of Sungai Dungun in Kuala Jengai was 21.33m – which was above the 21m danger level – while the reading at Pasir Raja showed 38.37m (danger level at 37.5m).
Four rivers in Kemaman, Hulu Terengganu and Setiu areas have exceeded the warning level.
In Kemaman, Sungai Tebak at Tebak Bridge recorded a reading of 18.3m – above the 17.8m warning level – while the level at Sungai Kemaman at Air Putih Bridge was 13.63m, above the 13.25m warning level.
In Setiu, Sungai Nerus in Kampung Langkap recorded a reading of 20.68m – above the warning level of 20.5m – while in Hulu Terengganu, Sungai Berang in Kampung Menerong recorded a reading of 24.21m, above the 24m warning level.
– Bernama