Number of flood victims increases in Sabah, Perak

KUALA LUMPUR - The number of people displaced by floods in Sabah and Perak has increased tonight while the number in Sarawak remained unchanged.

In Sabah, the number of evacuees in flood-hit Beaufort rose to 228 (from 72 families) as of 8 pm tonight from 102 victims (36 families) this afternoon.

The secretariat of the Sabah State Disaster Management Committee (JBPN) said in a statement that they were placed in the relief centre of Dewan Selagon which was opened since 4 pm yesterday following rising waters due to continuous heavy rain, adding that monitoring is still continuing at the hotspot locations in the district.

"All the victims are from five villages in Beaufort,” read the statement.

In Perak, the JPBN secretariat recorded an increase in flash flood victims as at 6 pm today with only one relief centre still open which is at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Changkat Lobak in Kerian District.

It said the relief centre accommodated 35 victims (eight families) from Kampung Matang Tengah, compared to 33 (seven families) at noon today.

Three relief centres previously opened at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Jernih in Selama; Kampung Klah community centre in Sungkai and Kampung Simpang Halt village hall in Taiping were shuttered yesterday and all evacuees allowed to return home.

Meanwhile, the Perak Public Works Department (PWD) said that only one lane on FT077 Jalan Pengkalan Hulu-Sempadan Thailand in Hulu Perak is open to all vehicles due to a landslide and the implementation of a traffic management plan in the area.

Jalan A 156 Jalan Karai-Jawang Trosor in Kuala Kangsar is still closed to all vehicles for the time being due to landslides.

In Sarawak, the number of flood victims at two relied centres in Limbang was unchanged at 33 people (seven families) as of 7pm today. - BERNAMA