JOHOR BARU: Continuous rainfall since Monday has caused floods in three districts in Johor, forcing over 1,000 victims to seek shelter at temporary relief centres.
In a statement, the state disaster management committee said some 1,093 victims from 298 families had been evacuated to 13 temporary relief centres as of 4pm yesterday after floods hit Segamat, Kota Tinggi and Kluang.
“Segamat is the worst hit, with 975 people from 273 families moved to eight relief centres, followed by Kluang with 75 victims from 19 families at four relief centres.
“In Kota Tinggi, there are 43 victims from six families placed at one temporary relief centre, which is at Dewan Kampung Baru Sungai Mas,” it added.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department issued an alert saying that continuous rain in Johor is expected to continue until today.
There are also four rivers that have reached the dangerous level (red), and two rivers have reached the warning level (orange).
“The rivers at the dangerous level are Sungai Gemas, Sungai Lenik, and Sungai Segamat in Segamat, and Sungai Kahang in Kluang.
“Rivers at the warning level are Sungai Muar and Sungai Labis in Segamat,” it said.
The floods have also caused road closures in Kota Tinggi on Jalan Ladang Sidang and in Segamat on Jalan Senai-Gemas.
Meanwhile, the poor weather caused congestion in the city area here, especially around the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) centre.
Singapore-registered vehicles are making a beeline for home after celebrating the long weekend here in conjunction with Chinese New Year.
In Labis, three people had a harrowing experience when their car crashed into a lake.
The incident took place at Jalan Impian in Taman Impian yesterday.
Labis Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Inggai Bakau said that the victims, aged between 13 and 23, were heading toward Segamat when the driver was believed to have lost control of his car.
“The incident occurred at 1.51pm while it was raining.
“All victims only suffered minor injuries,” he said when contacted.
He added that the victims were sent to Hospital Segamat for treatment.
