Numbers of flood evacuees at relief centres drop in three states

KUALA LUMPUR – The flood situation in Johor, Pahang, and Melaka continued to show positive developments, with a drop in the number of evacuees tonight from earlier this evening.

In Johor, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said that as of 8pm, the number of evacuees dropped to 43,856 from 44,780 at 2pm following the closure of five temporary relief centres in Segamat, Mersing, and Tangkak.

“The centres closed are the Paya Pulai Multipurpose Hall, Taman Suria Buloh Kasap, and Kg Bukit Tunggal Community Hall in Segamat; SJKC Chiao Ching in Mersing; and SK Parit Kassan in Tangkak,” it said.

It added that 174 centres are still open in six districts, compared with 179 at 2pm.

Batu Pahat is the worst-hit district with 36,508 evacuees, followed by Muar (3,791) and Tangkak (2,175).

In Pahang, the Social Welfare Department’s InfoBencana application reported that the number of flood victims in Rompin continued to drop tonight, with 1,804 evacuees placed at 12 centres compared with 2,122 at 15 centres in the evening.

Public InfoBanjir, meanwhile, reported that the water level at Sg Keratong in Rompin still exceeded the danger level, although it is showing a downward trend.

In Melaka, the number of flood victims in Jasin dropped to 484 people from 126 families as of 8pm from 523 from 141 families at 2pm.

The Melaka SDMC secretariat said that all the evacuees have been placed at five centres, with 179 victims from 45 families housed at SK Batu Gajah.

“A total of 138 victims from 33 families are placed at SK Parit Penghulu while 25 evacuees from seven families are taking shelter at SK Seri Mendapat.

“SK Sg Rambai has 85 evacuees from 19 families while SK Parit Gantong is housing 57 victims from 22 families,” it said in a statement. – Bernama, March 9, 2023