KOTA BHARU: Mangsa banjir di Kelantan membabitkan 44 individu ditempatkan di satu pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS).

Semua mangsa daripada 12 keluarga kini berada di PPS Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Beris Panchor, Bachok.

Menurut portal infobanjir.water.gov.my, Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS), Sungai Golok di Rantau Panjang melepasi paras amaran. 

Tiga lagi sungai melepasi paras berjaga-jaga iaitu Sungai Melor di Jambatan Melor Bachok, Sungai Semerak di Pasir Puteh dan Sungai Golok di Kuala Jambu, Tumpat.

Semalam, JPS mengeluarkan amaran banjir di Kelantan dengan kawasan rendah di sekitar Sungai Golok di Rantau Panjang dijangka dinaiki air.

Menurut kenyataan Pusat Ramalan dan Amaran Banjir Negara (PRABN) JPS susulan amaran hujan berterusan oleh Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia serta status aras air sungai diramalkan menaik dan akan melebihi aras bahaya, diramalkan banjir akan berlaku di beberapa lokasi di negeri ini.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is developing a system that will alert the public to natural disasters through their mobile phones.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said he had instructed MCMC to study methods of sending alerts to mobile phones in a location without using SMS.

He said South Korea and Japan had such a system to alert their people to earthquakes, tsunamis and missing persons.

“We see this as something that can benefit us. We will study it and streamline it with the National Disaster Management Agency.

“I have just liaised with MCMC on this. They are studying it and hope to finalise it within a month,” he said.

Fahmi was speaking after officiating at the Kuala Lumpur Civil Defence Force’s Kampung Siaga 221: Disaster Resilient Community programme in Kampung Pasir Baru here yesterday.

Present was deputy Civil Defence Force (management) chief commissioner Datuk Ismail Mohd Zawawi.

Fahmi said the programme was a collaboration between the Civil Defence Force and the Kampung Pasir Baru Residents’ Association in disaster preparedness.

“I’m pleased because after residents here experienced floods in 2021 and 2022, they came up with plans to prepare for future situations.

“I hope that this programme can bring about awareness on the need to prepare for disasters,” he said.

A woman suffering from gout had to stand in floodwater for six hours before being rescued by the Kelantan Civil Defence Force (APM).

Mazlina Mohamed, 45, said the floodwater at her home rose to 1m at 7am and remained at that level until she was rescued at 3pm and taken to a flood shelter at SM Beris Panchor here.

“I had to stand in the water and endure the pain as my family and I had just moved into this rented house two months ago and we still do not have much furniture.

“This is our first experience evacuating to a flood shelter. We rented the house despite knowing the area is flood-prone because ... the rent is affordable at RM300 a month,” she said.

Mazlina, her husband Mohd Riduan Harun, 45, and daughter Nur Aliya Maisarah Mohd Riduan, 19, moved to the shelter after being instructed by the authorities.

Mazlina, who has been suffering from gout for the past two years and whose condition worsened over the past week, said she was promptly treated by medical staff at the shelter.

Yasmin Syafiqah Anuar, 29, recalled being unable to sleep the night before as irrigation canals and padi fields near her home began overflowing.

“I moved to Kampung Budi four months ago and didn’t know it was flood-prone.

“I started packing and moving items to higher ground.

“By 8am, with water levels rising to nearly 1m, we were instructed by the authorities to evacuate.”

Yasmin said she and her husband had chosen to live in the area because of its proximity to her husband’s workplace in Kota Baru.

TERENGGANU and Melaka were the most affected as floods hit several states on the east and west coasts of the peninsula yesterday.

The floods come as the Malaysian Meteorological Department warns of continuous rain in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang until next Sunday.

In Terengganu, 321 people from 68 families were sheltering at 31 relief centres in five districts yesterday. The state’s disaster management committee secretariat said the districts were Kemaman, Dungun, Marang, Hulu Terengganu and Besut.

Marang had the highest number of flood victims with 187 being housed in SK Simpang Rawai, Dewan Sivik Wakaf Tapai, Dewan Sivik Merchang and SK Pengkalan Berangan.

Four shelters were also opened in Dungun to accommodate 61 people from 12 families. One shelter was opened in Kemaman’s Balairaya Beris Nenas.

In Melaka, 264 evacuees from 71 families are taking shelter at three relief centres.

In Perak, the number of evacuees remained unchanged with 68 people from 23 families staying at shelters in Larut, Matang and Selama districts.

In Kelantan, the number of evacuees rose to 40 from 30 overnight. They were housed at SMK Beris Panchor, Bachok.

The level of Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang has reached 8.64m, surpassing the warning threshold of 8m.

Three other rivers at alert levels were Sungai Golok in Kuala Jambu, Tumpat, at 2.02m (which has an alert level of 2m), Sungai Melor in Bachok at 7.91m (alert level of 7m), and Sungai Semerak in Pasir Puteh at 2.24m (alert level of 2m).

In Rantau Panjang, flood-hit residents have transferred essential items onto emergency rafts to prevent them from being swept away by floodwaters.

Kampung Tersang resident, Noraman Ismail, 39, said he and his neighbours started moving items such as tables, sofas, bicycles, and electrical appliances onto the rafts yesterday after floodwaters rose to 0.4m around their homes.

He said this was their first time using rafts, which were donated by a non-governmental organisation in early October.

Each raft, measuring over 13 square metres, is shared by three families. “We agreed to place only essential items to prevent them from being damaged.

“The rafts are tied to trees to keep them from being swept away by the flood currents and are tightly covered with canvas to protect them from rain.

“Floodwater in our area can be as deep as 3m, so we hope these rafts remain secure,” he said.

In Segamat, Johor, one flood shelter was opened at Balai Raya Gemereh 4 Batu Badak in the afternoon to house 11 victims from four families.

District disaster management committee chairman Mohd Masni Wakiman said the shelter was opened at 2pm after water overflowing from Sungai Muar began entering houses.

Segamat police chief Superintendent Ahmad Zamry Marinsah advised people to follow instructions to evacuate.

“Some people refused to leave their homes, which would complicate rescue efforts.

“I advise residents to heed the advice to evacuate.”

Page 1 pic: Mohamad Che Embong, 65, surveying a submerged jetty in Kampung Pulau Manis, Serada, near Kuala Terengganu, yesterday.