Evacuees in Perak return home as water recedes

IPOH: Flood evacuees in the state are returning home as water levels recede, said Perak Civil Defence Force director Kol Mohd Noor Hassan Ashari Sulaiman.

Compared to Friday, he said there were only 167 victims left at three evacuation centres.

He said in the Manjung district, only Sekolah Agama Tebuk Yan and SK Sungai Batu still housed 69 and 91 flood victims, respectively.

“A family of seven are the only ones left at the Kampung Sungai Muda community hall at Slim River in the Muallim district,” he added.

Manjung was hit the hardest with over a thousand victims fleeing their homes to seek shelter at six evacuation centres since Wed­nesday.

Continuous rain also caused serious land erosion between Batu 3 and Batu 10 in Segari, prompting a 17km-long stretch of the road to be closed to traffic.

The floods, which struck several villages in the district, were described by locals as the worst in recent history.

Faizal Mohd Radzi, 32, a resident of Kampung Semangat, Segari, said this was the first time his family was forced to leave the house, since moving to the village five years ago.

“The floodwaters outside our house reached chest-level and I had to carry my eight-year-old nephew to the relief centre.

“We did not expect the floods to be this bad. I pity my nephew who had come to the village to spend his school holidays and had to endure the floods,” he said. — Bernama