JOHOR BAHRU: Jumlah mangsa banjir di Johor berkurangan sedikit setakat jam 12 tengah hari ini iaitu daripada 10,763 orang pagi tadi kepada 10,629 orang membabitkan 3,169 keluarga.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negeri (JPBN), Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani, berkata mangsa banjir di lima daerah terjejas itu ditempatkan di 99 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS) yang diaktifkan.

Beliau yang juga Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Johor berkata, Johor Bahru terus menjadi daerah paling teruk terjejas, namun bilangan mangsa banjir menunjukkan penurunan iaitu daripada 4,291 orang (1,138 keluarga) pada pagi tadi, kepada 3,664 orang (1,139 keluarga) tengah hari ini.

"PPS di Johor Bahru yang masih aktif kekal 27 buah sehingga tengah hari ini.

"Kluang kedua banyak terjejas dan jumlah mangsa banjir bertambah kepada 2,361 orang (702 keluarga) berbanding 2,163 orang (635 keluarga), pagi tadi. Mereka kini ditempatkan di 27 PPS di daerah itu," katanya menerusi kenyataan media, hari ini.

Azmi berkata, Kota Tinggi, Pontian dan Kulai terus mencatat peningkatan jumlah mangsa banjir yang mana Kota Tinggi merekodkan 1,779 mangsa (510 keluarga) di 17 PPS berbanding 1,761 mangsa (504 keluarga) pagi tadi.

Katanya, Pontian pula meningkat kepada 1,668 mangsa (462 keluarga) berbanding 1,395 mangsa (387 keluarga) dan masih di 20 PPS, manakala jumlah mangsa banjir di Kulai pula meningkat sedikit dengan 1,157 orang (356 keluarga), berbanding 1,152 orang (354 keluarga) di lapan PPS.

Sementara itu, Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia (METMalaysia) masih dengan amaran hujan lebat berterusan tahap buruk di enam daerah di negeri ini.

Ia membabitkan daerah Johor Bahru, Kluang, Mersing, Pontian, Kulai dan Kota Tinggi yang dijangka sehingga hari ini.

Amaran hujan berterusan tahap waspada dikeluarkan membabitkan daerah Tangkak, Segamat, Muar dan Batu Pahat, juga dijangka sehingga hari ini.

Pada masa sama, Sungai Batu Pahat, Sungai Endau, Sungai Johor, Sungai Pulai dan Sungai Skudai merekodkan bacaan air sungai melepasi paras bahaya.

Setakat jam 12 tengah hari, hanya Johor Bahru, Muar, Kluang dan Kota Tinggi dilaporkan cerah, manakala enam daerah yang lain dilaporkan mendung.

SIBU, March 21 — Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) has implemented an emergency shutdown of the electricity supply in several areas across Kanowit, Song and Kapit due to rising floodwaters.

In a statement today, SEB identified the affected areas as the Kanowit Water Treatment Pump House, parts of Nanga Poi, Rumah Nyalong, and Sungai Baloh in Kanowit.

In Song, the impacted areas include Sungai Embuau, Sungai Manap, Sungai Song, Lubok Engkabang, Sungai Selibut, Nanga Kebiaw, Sungai Lijau, Temalat and Kampung Rian.

In Kapit, the blackout has affected Sungai Sibau Ulu, Nanga Tulie, Nanga Baleh, Pulau Pisang and Kampung Muhibbah Bleteh.

“Supply will be restored once floodwaters have subsided. To prevent potential electrical hazards such as fire or electrocution due to water damage, substations in flooded areas must be inspected and handled properly,” the statement read.

SEB expressed gratitude to consumers for their patience and understanding during this challenging time.

For any enquiries or assistance, affected residents can contact SEB’s 24/7 Customer Care Centre at 1300-88-3111 or reach out via the SEB Cares application. — Bernama

JAKARTA, March 21 — At least seven international flights from Indonesia’s resort island Bali have been cancelled, an airport official said today, after a volcano in the archipelago nation’s east erupted, shooting dark ash eight kilometres into the sky.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-metre (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted for 11 minutes and nine seconds late yesterday, authorities said, raising the volcano’s alert status to the highest level.

As of 9:45 am (0145 GMT) today, “seven international flights had been cancelled, six of them are Jetstar flights bound to Australia and one Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur,” Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport spokesman, Andadina Dyah, said in a statement.

Several other flights — both domestic and international, including to Thailand, Singapore and Australia — have been delayed, it said.

The local airport in Maumere, on Flores, the closest to the volcano, has not been affected by the ash, according to the transportation ministry.

“The ash column was observed grey to black with thick intensity,” Indonesia’s volcanology agency said in a statement about the eruption, which began at around 11pm yesterday.

There were no reports of damages to nearby villages, but the agency warned residents of the potential for volcanic mudflow due to heavy rainfall.

The long eruption prompted the country’s geological agency to raise the volcano’s alert level to the highest of the four-tiered system.

Authorities imposed an exclusion zone between seven and eight kilometres around the volcano, the agency added.

In November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times, killing nine people, cancelling scores of international flights to the tourist island of Bali and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman”.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” — AFP

JOHOR ohor Bahru : Seramai 43 guru dan murid Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Taman Tampoi Utama di sini terperangkap di kawasan sekolah, semalam, selepas kawasan sekolah terbabit dinaiki air, susulan hujan lebat berterusan.

Ketua Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Larkin, Mohd Suhaimi Abdul Jamal berkata, mereka terdiri daripada 29 guru wanita, lapan guru lelaki dan enam pelajar perempuan.

"Setibanya Pasukan Keluaran Operasi (PKO) ditempat kejadian didapati benar berlaku bencana banjir di kawasan yang dilaporkan.

"Kesemua mangsa yang diselamatkan dipindahkan ke Pusat Pemindahan Sementara (PPS) Pu Sze, kira-kira jam 1.26 pagi tadi.

"Daripada 43 mangsa itu, terdapat 24 guru wanita dan enam kanak-kanak perempuan diselamatkan. Bakinya lapan guru lelaki dan lima guru wanita termasuk seorang hamil memilih untuk menetap di lokasi,"katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini

Menurut Mohd Suhaimi, PKO bertindak membantu mereka dengan menghantar makanan untuk mangsa terjejas banjir.