Thousands still in shelters

Wet wood: Che Ali Che Mud, 60, wading out to inspect lumber at his home in Pasir Mas. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of flood evacuees in Kelantan, Terengganu and Sabah saw a drop compared to Sunday, while the figure in Perak remained unchanged.

However, the number of residents in Sabah’s coastal areas, especially those living on stilt houses, evacuated due to high tide phenomenon, increased yesterday.

In Kelantan, 12 relief centres were closed as of 4pm after 3,900 flood evacuees were allowed to return to their homes.In a statement, State Civil Defence Force (APM) Disaster Management and Operations officer Capt (PA) Mohd Hanif Omar said six relief centres were still opened in Pasir Mas and Tumpat yesterday evening, housing 1,511 people from 515 families, compared to 5,411 from 1,787 families in the morning.

“Five relief centres in Pasir Mas are housing 1,174 people from 390 families, while 337 people from 125 families are still at a centre in Tumpat,” he said.

The situation in Terengganu continued to improve, with the number of evacuees in Besut dropping to 138 from 1,438 yesterday morning.

The State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat said the relief centre at Masjid Kampung La housed 126 evacuees, while that at the Kampung Pantai community hall had 12.

In Perak, only one relief centre remained open yesterday evening, at SMK Abd Rahman Talib in Hilir Perak, with 62 people from 14 families from Kampung Batu 7 and Kampung Batu 7 1/2 Lorong Mesra, Changkat Jong.