PASIR MAS: The current flood situation has been described as the worst in history by Kelantan police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat.
“This is just the first round of floods, and it’s already like this. For me, this is the worst flood so far,” he said during a press conference at the Repek police station here, Sinar Harian reported.
Nine states have been affected by floods this weekend.
The flood situation in several states has worsened, with the number of evacuees rising to 142,684 yesterday evening – compared to 106,505 reported on Friday night – and six fatalities have been reported so far, Bernama reported.
The first casualty of the flood was Tuan Jusoh Tuan Hassan, 66, from Kampung Pinang, Besut, Terengganu, who was found drowned on Nov 28.
The deaths of two sisters were reported from the landslide tragedy in Kampung Bukit Apit, Ajil, Hulu Terengganu.
There were also three casualties in Kelantan.
A 35-year-old man was electrocuted, a 64-year-old man is believed to have drowned in Machang, and a toddler drowned after falling into floodwaters at his house in Kampung Cherang Melintang, Tumpat.
The worst-affected state, Kelantan, recorded 87,788 victims, followed by Terengganu with 39,220 victims.
The number of victims appears to be rising in most states, aside from Negri Sembilan, which is improving, and Perlis, Selangor and Melaka, which seems to be decreasing too.
There are now a total of 704 active temporary evacuation centres (PPS) across 37 districts throughout the country.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) also forecast continuous rain in Perak (Hulu Perak), Kelantan (Gua Musang) and Terengganu (Dungun and Kemaman) until today.
In Negri Sembilan, the flood situation has improved with only 12 active PPS operating, compared to 22 on Friday. Tampin has six followed by Kuala Pilah and Jempol with three each.
The number of victims has reduced from 2,120 to 1,985.
The Kelantan police chief also revealed that 27 General Operations Force (GOF) posts in Tumpat and Rantau Panjang and 10 police stations have been closed due to floods in the past several days.
Comm Mohd Yusoff said all GOF personnel had to seek shelter at several relief centres in Lubok Setol, but noted that they would still continue monitoring the border and enforcing security controls, according to Bernama.
“National border controls are still in good condition and we are using existing boats to patrol because when it rains, Sungai Golok will break its banks and cause the dividing line of the Malaysia-Thailand border to disappear,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, communication issues amid the floods are being handled proactively by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“Among the works are to coordinate recovery works on communication infrastructure to ensure residents can keep in touch during natural disasters,” the MCMC said.
At the same time, it said the National Information Dissemination Centres (NADIs) unaffected by the floods can still be used to access the Internet and keep communication channels open.
To further ensure better Internet coverage at PPS, MCMC said it will also conduct tests to identify PPS locations with issues and take subsequent actions.
MCMC also said it is providing early flood warnings to consumers through various means such as text messaging.
“This will help the public get the latest information about the floods throughout the country,” it added.
As of 10am yesterday, 47 NADIs were still affected following the recent floods in seven states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang, Johor, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
