Heavy rains cause mud flood in Camerons, one dead

A picture making its rounds on Twitter showing flood waters almost reaching the roof of a low-level house.

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: At least one person has died, while four others were injured with another missing after heavy rain caused two landslides and a mudslide at several areas here.

The area is 4km away from Bertam Valley where a mudslide occurred on Oct 23 last year.

Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Morni Mamat said the missing person was a 13-year-old boy, who was swept away by floodwaters near a farm in Kuala Terla after Sungai Ringlet overflowed.

It is believed the boy had tried to climb onto a tractor in a bid to save himself, but failed.

Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.

Nearby in Ulu Merah, a Nepalese worker died while an Indonesian worker sustained slight injuries in a landslide at about 9.50pm, he said.

In yet another landslide at a factory area along Jalan Kuari, two Indian workers and a Malaysian were seriously injured after being crushed in a car workshop.

"It has been raining heavily since 5.30pm and the rain has not stopped," Morni said when contacted by The Star.

As at 10pm, some 150 people from 37 families have been evacuated from their homes, which were inundated with mud and floodwaters, and placed at the Ringlet community hall.

A police spokesman said the authorities were expecting the number of victims to increase due to continuous heavy rain.

He also said that as at 10.30pm, Tenaga Nasional Bhd had started slowly releasing water from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam to avoid waters from reaching critical levels, failing which the dam gates will automatically open.

The flood prompted netizens such as Mohd Azham (@azhamvsvc) to take to Twitter to express their concern for the residents, saying; "Just saw the photos; that's a huge flood. Hope everyone in Ringlet, Cameron Highlands stay on higher ground".

"Flood in Cameron Highlands. Hope everyone is safe," tweeted Mohd Azham, who also posted photos of the incident showing the extent of the floodwaters as it flowed down streets.

On Oct 23 last year, four people died while over 100 houses and scores of vehicles were damaged when water and mud gushed through Bertam Valley after water was released from the Sultan Abu Bakar Hydroelectric Dam.