Floods: Sabah the worst hit as over 14,000 people displaced throughout country

Armizan (right) speaking to a flood victim at a temporary flood relief centre in Kota Marudu on Saturday (Jan 28).

KOTA KINABALU: More than 14,000 people have been displaced by floods in four states nationwide, with Sabah the worst hit, says Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

The Sabah-Sarawak Affairs and Special Tasks Minister said, as of Friday (Jan 27), there were approximately 4,569 families, involving 14,012, affected by the disaster.

More than 13,000 of the flood victims were from Sabah.

Overall, the flood victims were currently put up at 73 temporary flood relief centres in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Sabah, he added.

"This number does not include those who were directly affected by the floods but did not move to the centres," he said, after visiting a flood shelter in Sabah’s northern Kota Marudu district on Saturday (Jan 28).

Based on reports across the country, he said, due to continuous heavy rain, six districts in Johor have been flooded, five districts in Sabah and one each in Pahang and Terengganu.

Armizan said, according to a report by the National Disaster Control Center (NDCC), under the coordination of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the country was currently experiencing the third continuous episode of heavy rain which started last Jan 19.

Throughout the northeast monsoon, he added, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) had issued a total of 10 warnings on the continuous rain.

"The effects of the monsoon this time are expected to continue until Feb 4 and the weather forecast shows that continuous rain is expected to be concentrated in the east of the peninsula and Sabah.

"Meanwhile, as previously announced, this northeasterly monsoon which started at the beginning of Nov last year is expected to last until March," said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

On the Sabah situation, Armizan said, a total of 10,312 people from 3,564 families from five districts were now staying in the temporary flood shelters.

He said that these victims were from the districts of Paitan, Pitas, Kota Marudu, Telupid and Tawau.

He added that 13,480 people from 4,675 families have been relocated to 70 relief centres throughout Sabah either due to floods or high tide phenomenon since the start of the monsoon last October.