RIVERS in four states – Pahang, Perlis, Sarawak and Selangor – are on the verge of bursting their banks, said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).

It said the rivers reached danger level at 8am today.

In a statement, Nadma said the rivers are Sungai Rompin (Pahang), Sungai Perlis (Kangar, Perlis), Longjegan Baram (Miri, Sarawak), and Sungai Langat and Pekan Meru Sungai Klang (Selangor). 

It said Sungai Muar Tangkak and Sungai Batu Pahat in Johor, as well as Batang Rajang Mukah, Batang Krian Betong, and Batang Suai Miri in Sarawak, had reached alert level. 

It said Sungai Kapar Besar Petaling and Sungai Selangor in Kuala Selangor are also at alert level.

As part of its preparation for possible floods, Nadma said seven temporary evacuation centres are currently open across the country, with three each in Selangor and Johor and one in Kelantan. 

Since the start of this month, several areas in Selangor have been hit by flash floods, resulting in election campaign disruptions as candidates turned to providing relief to victims.

Yesterday, candidates in Selangor postponed campaigning activities to visit flood victims in Meru, Klang, Kapar, and Shah Alam. 

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Gombak parliamentary seat, and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate for the Kapar parliamentary seat Halimah Ali have cancelled their campaign activities to check on the flood situation in affected areas.

The Gombak election secretariat for the PH candidate said Amirudin cancelled his campaign event after Ishak prayers last night to visit the flood-hit areas and coordinate efforts to expedite the distribution of aid to the victims. 

A representative of the Kapar PN candidate said Halimah’s campaigning was postponed so she could visit flood victims in Meru. 

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate contesting the Sungai Buloh seat, posted on Twitter of his visit to the flood-hit Taman Setia Warisan near Shah Alam.

Candidates for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat, namely, Mohamad Sabu (PH) and D. Kajendran (BN), also went to the ground to visit flood victims at the SK Johan Setia relief centre and Taman Desawan, respectively. – November 11, 2022.