FLOODING in Sabah and Sarawak has worsened with an increase in the number of evacuees, while the opposite is reported in Johor, Pahang and Kelantan this evening.

A check at infobanjir.water.gov.my this afternoon found Sg Padas in Beaufort, Malihah in Kuching; Sg Jelai in Lipis and Sg Pahang in Lubuk Paku, Maran and in Serambi, Pekan, Pahang; as well as Sg Golok in Kuala Jambu, Kelantan still recording readings above the danger level.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department forecasts rain and thunderstorms in Sarawak and Sabah until January 19.

In Sabah, the number of flood evacuees rose to 1,054 people as at 4pm today, with all of them housed in eight temporary relief centres in three districts – Kota Marudu, Pitas and Beaufort.

According to a statement from the Sabah disaster management committee secretariat, the number of flood victims in four centres in Kota Marudu, namely Kg Asin-Asin hall, SK Taritipan, SK Advent Damai and SMK Tandek has increased to 885 people.

In Pitas, 145 people are housed in three relief centres in the district, while the number of evacuees placed in Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Dun Banir hall, Beaufort remaining at 24.

Meanwhile, heavy rains on the east coast of Sabah have caused five villages in Lahad Datu to be flooded. So far, four districts in Sabah – Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beaufort and Lahad Datu – involving 101 villages, have been affected by the floods, but no evacuees have so far been reported in Lahad Datu.

In Sarawak, the Sarawak disaster management committee head head, Major (PA) Ismail Mahedin said the number of residents evacuated to the centres has increased to 385 people, of which 332 are housed in six centres.

There are four new centres opened today – the Bimajaya recreational hall, which houses 75 people, Taman Malihah multipurpose hall (187), Batu Kawa shophouses (60) and Kg Batu 1 multipurpose hall in Miri accommodating seven people.

In Johor, weather conditions have improved, allowing three centres to be closed, leaving 30 centres still operating as at 3.30pm today.

Johor health and environment committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said following the closures, the number of people affected by floods remained at 2,999.

However, Kota Tinggi remained the district with the highest number of evacuees at 2,161 people followed by Johor Baru (624), Kluang (121), Segamat (76) and Pontian (17).

In Pahang, the number of flood victims this afternoon dropped to 14,360 still being accommodated at 131 centres, compared with 16,292 people recorded this morning.

The Social Welfare Department Disaster Info Portal reported Temerloh recording 6,080 evacuees followed by Pekan (3,267), Maran (2,066), Bera (1,633) and Kuantan (792).

Three districts previously severely affected by the floods that started on January 3 have also showed improvement, with Lipis recording 353 evacuees, Jerantut (106) and Raub (63).

In Kelantan, the number of flood victims involving the Pasir Mas district has dropped to 58 people at 3pm compared with 84 reported this morning.

All the victims are housed at centres at SK Tok Deh, Pasir Mas. – Bernama, January 13, 2021.