Flood woes: Heavy rains caused flooding in Baling, Kedah, prompting the evacuation of some residents to relief centres.
ALOR SETAR: All agencies in Kedah are on standby for the possibility of another wave of floods, especially in low-lying areas, as 34 people were evacuated in the state.
Kedah Civil Defence Force (APM) disaster operations division chief Mejar Mohd Muaz Mohd Yusoff said other agencies involved were the district office, police, Fire and Rescue Department, and Rela.
“The weather now is cloudy but improving, and the river water is receding gradually. However, all agency personnel, including from APM, will be ready for the eventuality of any flood,” he said.
Mohd Muaz said as at noon yesterday, 34 victims from nine families were taking shelter at two temporary relief centres at SK Tengku Habsah and Tun Abdul Razak Hall.
“Heavy rain on Tuesday caused the water level in low-lying areas or near the river to rise and the victims had to be evacuated immediately to the relief centres that were open on Tuesday night,” he said.
Continuous rain for about an hour from 6pm on Tuesday had caused Sungai Baling to overflow its banks into housing areas nearby.
Authorities were alerted at about 7pm and a relief team was dispatched to the flooded area.
State health director Dr Othman Warijo said the situation at Hospital Baling had improved with floodwaters having completely receded from yesterday morning.
“The flood only affected the community space on the ground level of the quarters,” he said.
Besides the hospital quarters, other areas badly hit were Kampung Rambong Batu, Kampung Bendang Sera, Kampung Jernang, Kampung Seratus and Kampung Tanjung Langsat.
In Johor Baru, several parts of the city that were flooded after a heavy downpour on Tuesday have returned to normal. It was also business as usual at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, which was one of the locations hit by flash floods.
State health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said clean-up work was carried out yesterday morning.
“The hospital’s car park and facilities on the ground floor such as toilets and lifts were affected by the flash flood. The affected areas have been cleared and cleaned and everything is back to normal,” he said, adding that no medical equipment or facilities were damaged.
