ALOR SETAR: The floods are easing in Kedah, with over 7,000 victims in 37 evacuation centres able to return home soon.
State Civil Defence Force (APM) disaster management secretariat chief Mejar (PA) Muhammad Suhaimi Mohd Zain said the latest indications showed that the situation should be back to normal soon.
“If there is no heavy rain over the next few days, we expect the water level to recede in two or three days,” he said yesterday.
He said besides Ampang Jajar where the water level remained dangerously high at 1.91m, the level was receding in other areas.
Muhammad Suhaimi said the 7,506 victims were from 2,384 families in the districts of Kubang Pasu, Pokok Sena, Kota Setar, Pendang and Bandar Baharu.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the combination of heavy rainfall across the state and a four-day high tide phenomenon from last Wednesday to Saturday was believed to have caused large-scale flooding in Kedah.
“When this happens, water becomes trapped and cannot flow into the sea, which is why the floods this time has been more severe over a longer period,” he said after visiting flood victims at the temporary evacuation centre at SMK Tunku Seri Indera Putera.
He said there were six flood mitigation projects underway in Kedah at a total cost of over RM512mil in Sungai Kedah near Anak Bukit, including in South Jitra, Baling, Pendang and the construction of sabo infrastructure at Sungai Kupang in Baling.
Additionally, six more projects are in the procurement and design stages involving a total cost of RM309mil.
“All these projects are urgently needed in Kedah and the severity of flooding this year shows the importance of expediting them,” he said.
