Floods recede as wet weather eases

Going down: A resident cleaning up as floodwaters recede from the interior of her home at Sungai Manik in Hilir Perak. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: A sunny break in inclement weather saw floods in most parts of the country subsiding and evacuees allowed to return home.

However, the Meteorological Department has warned Malaysians to expect more rainfall and thunderstorms in the coming week.

In Ipoh, all 38 people affected by flash floods in Kampung Pengkalan Ara, Hilir Perak, have returned home. Hilir Perak district officer Shahru­naim Radzali said the last of the villagers at the shelter, consisting of nine families, left at 1.30pm yesterday.

“We have now closed the temporary shelter at SK Pengkalan Ara. The relocation efforts were assisted by the Civil Defence Department and Rela,” he said.

The villagers have been staying at the shelter since Saturday.However, at Kampung Padang Serai in Pantai Remis, Manjung, some 71 people from 17 families are still being housed at the temporary shelter, which opened on Friday when the water level rose to 1.4m.

As at 4pm yesterday, the weather at Hilir Perak and Manjung was cloudy again although conditions elsewhere in the state remained fair.

In Kota Baru, Bernama reported that as at noon, the state’s official flood website at http://ebanjir.kelantan.gov.my put the number of flood evacuees in Kelantan at 55.

The evacuees are being housed in flood relief centres at SK Wakaf Raja, Pasir Puteh (26 evacuees) and SK Tiong, Kota Baru (29).

The relief centre at SMK Beris Panchor, Bachok, was closed at noon after the 12 evacuees returned to their homes, it said.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department also recorded the river level at Sungai Golok, Rantau Panjang, as having fallen to 7.14m from 7.34m previously. This is still above the alert level at 7m.

For the coming week, rainfall is forecast in the mornings for east coast states in Peninsular Malaysia while other states will experience thunderstorms in the evenings and at night.

Sarawak will see rain along its coast as well as in the central and western regions. Rain is also expected in the mornings for the western and eastern regions of Sabah with thunderstorms in several areas, especially Labuan.