King prays n for safety of victims, rescuers

Leave for ministers, n deputy ministers frozen; PM tells them to help out in flood-hit areas

THE flood situation in the country worsened yesterday, with nearly 100,000 people evacuated in eight states.

Continuous rainfall has led to a sharp increase in the number of flood victims across several states, with Kelantan reporting the highest number.

At press time, Bernama reports that 65,993 evacuees in 244 shelters in 10 districts, up from 59,232 yesterday morning.

The next worst-hit state is Terengganu, with 20,911 people from 5,916 families sheltering at 232 relief centres, up from 17,762 at 8pm on Thursday.

Other affected states are Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Selangor.

Earlier, the Meteorological Department issued a continuous rain warning for eight states — Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang, Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Johor.

In Kelantan, Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud distributed food to flood victims in his constituency yesterday, navigating floodwaters by boat.

In a Facebook post, the 59-yearold Meranti assemblyman was seen with a few officers as he delivered essential supplies.

Nassuruddin, who piloted the boats, said he had been helping flood victims since Thursday, despite his house in Meranti being inundated.

“I’ve been going house to house to hand over donations to those affected,” he said, adding that his daily operations started early in the morning and continued after Zohor prayers.

Meanwhile, the army is ready to increase the deployment of officers and personnel should the floods worsen.

Army chief General Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan said 192 officers and 3,552 personnel had been allocated under Op Murni in anticipation of severe floods across the country.

Three river monitoring stations in Selangor, operated by the Drainage and Irrigation Department, reported water levels exceeding the danger level up to 11.15am yesterday.

According to the department’s flood information portal, the affected stations are Bukit Changgang in Kuala Langat, Pekan Meru in Klang and Kampung Sungai Selisik in Hulu Selangor.

The Kampung Salak Tinggi, Jenderam Hilir, Dengkil and Jambatan SKC river monitoring stations reported water levels at the alarming level.

According to the Social Welfare Department, two temporary evacuation centres were activated in the state at 9.30am yesterday.

The relief centres, which are at Balai MPKK Bukit Kapar and SK Bukit Binjai in Meru, were housing 161 victims from 40 families.

Additional reporting by Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah