Devastation: A half-submerged house seen in Jitra, Kedah. In the state, there were 5,619 victims displaced across Kubang Pasu, Padang Terap, Kota Setar, Sik and Pokok Sena.
PETALING JAYA: The number of evacuees has doubled to almost 95,000 in just 24 hours, three people have died and 33 rivers have breached dangerous levels as the flood situation in the country continues to worsen.
Kelantan is the hardest hit in what could be the country’s worst floods in decades, with the highest number of evacuees and two deaths, in Pasir Puteh and Machang on Wednesday.
The third victim drowned in Besut. Terengganu on Thursday.
Kelantan’s 63,761 victims were from the districts of Pasir Mas, Tumpat, Kota Baru, Pasir Puteh, Kuala Krai, Machang, Tanah Merah, Bachok, Jeli and Gua Musang.
Terengganu recorded 22,511 evacuees across the districts of Besut, Setiu, Hulu Terengganu, Kemaman, Dungun, Marang and Kuala Terengganu.
In Kedah, there were 5,619 victims displaced across Kubang Pasu, Padang Terap, Kota Setar, Sik and Pokok Sena.
Some 1,822 individuals were evacuated in Negri Sembilan across the districts of Tampin, Kuala Pilah and Jempol while Perlis recorded 485 evacuees.
In Selangor, 311 individuals were evacuated in Klang, Melaka recorded 66 evacuations across Jasin, Alor Gajah and Melaka Tengah while Kerian in Perak recorded 20 evacuees.
In Johor, 184 flood victims were evacuated across districts in Tangkak and Segamat.
A total of 94,778 people across nine states were displaced as at 4pm yesterday compared to the 52,360 victims a day earlier.
The flood victims comprised 28,589 families, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
A total of 527 temporary relief centres have since been opened across the nine states, with the centres in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis and Selangor recording an increasing number of evacuees.
According to the Irrigation and Drainage Department’s portal, 11 rivers breached dangerous water levels in Terengganu, followed by Kelantan and Kedah (six each), Johor (three), Negri Sembilan and Selangor (two each), and one each in Melaka, Perlis and Sarawak.
Rivers that breach danger levels indicates considerable flooding in the area and requires evacuation.
Nadma has activated the federal Centralised Disaster Operations Control Centre to coordinate and monitor rescue operations and manage flood victims.
The Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) has also been mobilised to assist in search and rescue operations in affected states, specifically Kelantan.
This elite team comprises personnel from the police, Armed Forces, and the Fire and Rescue Department.
“The Welfare Department has also requested an additional 50,000 food retorts for distribution at temporary relief centres,” Nadma added.
Meanwhile, the Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Control Centre told The Star that 10,469 personnel were actively operating across Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Selangor and Perak.
It said four swift response teams were deployed to Kelantan, while two teams from the Regional Forward Base (East Zone) were stationed at the department’s East Territory located in Terengganu.
Teams from the department’s north division were also deployed alongside a team from the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department.
Another of the department’s swift response teams was mobilised to Kedah.
It advised those caught in floods to evacuate if ordered to do so.
