JOHOR BARU: Tangkak has become the latest district affected by floods, with 53 victims from 11 families evacuated to temporary relief centres (PPS).
Johor Civil Defence director Asst Comm (PA) Kamal Mokhtar said that as of 8am on Monday (Nov 14), the five districts affected by floods are Kulai, Segamat, Kluang, Pontian and Tangkak.
"Currently, there are 319 victims from 73 families that have been placed at eight PPS in all affected districts.
“The victims from Tangkak are from Kampung Simpang 5 Darat, Kampung Parit Bunga Raya Hujung, and Kampung Parit Pulai that have been moved to SK Simpang 5 Darat PPS,” he said in a statement.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has also issued a statement saying that thunderstorms are expected in Segamat, Muar, Batu Pahat, Kluang, Mersing, Pontian, Kulai, and Kota Tinggi, he added.
“There are also two rivers that have reached the alert level, namely Sungai Batu Pahat in Segamat at 5.47m from the normal level of 4.10m, and Sungai Benut in Kluang at 16.80m from the normal level of 15.85m,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bukit Permai assemblyman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said that the flood that hit Kampung Baru Sengkang in Kulai last Saturday (Nov 12) was something that was unexpected as the area had not experienced flooding for a few years now.
“We conducted a river deepening project at Sungai Sengkang, which is a tributary of Sungai Skudai, a few years ago and conducted constant clean-up of all the drainage systems to ensure nothing is clogged.
“But the three-hour long heavy rain was beyond our expectation, this caused the water level to quickly rise,” he said, adding that the swift action by the Kulai Fire and Rescue Department in saving the affected villagers should be applauded.
Mohd Jafni, who is also the chairman of the Johor housing and local government committee, said that the water level in the village has receded and a team of volunteers and cleanup crews have been sent to the location.
“We have deployed a team from SWM Environment and SWCorp that is helped by the Southern Volunteers and Barisan Nasional Youth Volunteers (BNYV) to help clean the affected houses,” he said.
Currently, there are 139 victims from 29 families from Kampung Baru Sengkang, which is the highest number of flood victims, placed at the Dewan Serbaguna Kampung Baru Sengkang.
