JOHOR BARU: Floods in five Johor districts are receding despite continuous rain and thunderstorm forecasts.

Up to 4pm yesterday, 2,455 evacuees from 703 families remained in 23 relief centres in Johor Baru, Pontian, Kota Tinggi, Kluang and Batu Pahat.

Johor Baru remains the worst hit, with more than 2,300 evacuees in 10 centres. Those in other districts are gradually returning home as floodwaters subside.

State Disaster Management Committee chairman Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani said clean-up efforts were well underway, with volunteers helping to clear debris and remove damaged furniture.

SWM Environment Sdn Bhd corporate general manager Mohd Norlisam Mohd Nordin said waste management teams had collected some 150 tonnes of debris from flood-hit areas.

Local community groups have been instrumental in clean-up efforts, with Johor DAP vice-chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali saying more than 50 volunteers were deployed to provide assistance.

“RM5,000 was donated for cleaning supplies, food for volunteers and essential equipment. We also provided eight roll-on-roll-off bins for waste disposal and coordinated public donations,” he said.

In Kota Tinggi, floodwaters caused significant losses for traders, particularly at the Aidilfitri bazaar near Sungai Johor.

More than half of the clothing on sale were soaked, leaving several bazaar traders devastated.

Dya Meli Asman, 21, said it was her first attempt at selling Raya clothes after previously running a salon.

“I had invested more than RM80,000 into selling Raya clothing for women, men and children.

“When I arrived at the site, I found that the river next to the bazaar had overflowed, and water was rising fast.

“We packed up until 10pm, but it was a challenge as three of my workers couldn’t help because their homes were also affected by the flood,” she said.

Dya Meli was managing the business alone as her family lives in Pahang. To reduce her losses, she plans to hold a clearance sale for the damaged clothing after getting them cleaned.

Mohd Ridzuan Adnan, 36, a longtime seller of Raya biscuits, said the flood was unexpected.

“We’ve been trading here every Ramadan for more than 20 years. We’ve never seen floods or weather like this. It’s usually scorching heat.

“With less than two weeks until Syawal, this should have been the peak period for the sale of Raya biscuits, but the heavy rain has deterred customers,” he said. Ridzuan remains hopeful.

“We only hope there won’t be more floods. We’ve taken precautions by placing our stock on higher ground, but we remain optimistic moving forward.”