Nadma: Evacuate when rivers breach danger mark
PETALING JAYA: The flood situation is worsening in parts of the peninsula with 481 people being placed at temporary relief centres in three states as of 4pm yesterday, says the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
They comprised 139 families, across nine temporary relief centres in Kedah, Perak and Pahang, said Nadma director-general Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus.
In Kedah, three relief centres were activated in Kota Setar, housing 221 victims from 77 families, while a centre in Kubang Pasu had 40 people from eight families.
In Perak, four temporary relief centres were activated, housing a total of 133 victims (37 families).
Two centres in Kerian housed 80 victims and 23 families while there were 44 victims from 12 families in the Hilir Perak centre.
Another centre in Kinta, meanwhile, had nine victims (two families).
In Pahang, 87 victims were housed at a relief centre in Cameron Highlands.
Khairul Shahril said more relief centres would be activated once people were required to evacuate their homes.
“The (evacuation) notice will be issued when river water levels breach the dangerous mark,” he said when contacted.
He added that alerts would also be issued based on the Malaysian Meteorological Department’s (MetMalaysia) weather warning.
On Nov 13, MetMalaysia issued an alert for continuous rain in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang beginning yesterday.
It said continuous rain was expected in parts of Kelantan and the whole of Terengganu from yesterday till tomorrow.
The areas involved in Kelantan are Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Jeli, Tanah Merah, Bachok, Pasir Puteh and Kuala Krai.
Pahang and Sabah were told to expect continuous rain from today till Sunday.
In Pahang, the areas involved are Jerantut, Kuantan and Pekan, while in Sabah, it involves the west coast (Ranau and Kota Belud), Sandakan (Telupid, Kinabatangan, Beluran and Sandakan) and Kudat.
MetMalaysia also previously forecast four to six episodes of heavy rain during the northeast monsoon season from Nov 11 until March next year.
Fire and Rescue deputy director-general (operations) Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad advised the public to refrain from carrying out recreational activities near water bodies during the rainy season.
“Be aware of weather conditions and monitor MetMalaysia alerts, but the best is to avoid activities near water bodies.
“If you indeed have to head there, take note of the water levels. There are usually water marks either at rivers or beaches,” he said.
The public, he said, should be alert about warning signs in case of incidents of water surges or high tides.
He said early signs of water surges were usually an explosive sound and that the water flowing down would be murky and sandy.
He said those at the beach should be alert of high tides.
“During the low tide, some areas may be accessible but when the tide comes in, they will be submerged,” Nor Hisham said.
“If you are slow to evacuate, you may get caught in the tide.”
Four rivers in Kedah breached dangerous water levels as at 5.30pm yesterday, according to data from the Drainage and Irrigation Department portal.
In Kota Setar, Sungai Anak Bukit water level in Taman Aman and Jambatan TAR breached dangerous marks at 2.84m and 1.77m respectively.
Sungai Bata and Sungai Laka in Kubang Pasu also breached dangerous water levels with readings of 9.43m and 21.6m respectively.
Water levels of six rivers in Kedah, Johor, Sarawak, Pahang and Perak have also breached the alert levels.
In Kedah, Sungai Pendang breached alert levels at 2.68m.
In Johor, Sungai Muar in Segamat and Parit Keliling breached alert levels with19.5m and 0.57m readings respectively.
Kuala Tatau in Bintulu, Sarawak, breached alert mark at 1.14m.
In Negri Sembilan, water levels at Sungai Muar in Jempol breached the alert mark at 32.79m.
Sungai Bidor in Changkat Jong, Perak, meanwhile, breached the alert level at 3.48m.
