The strong water currents during the recent floods in Tumpat caused houses to collapse and damaged vehicles. Many viallges were left inaccesible after water erosion destroyed roads.This left residents who were unwilling to evacuate in a very dangerous situation.
TUMPAT: Police urged villagers to not be stubborn and resist evacuation when requested by authorities because a delay could make a major difference between life and death.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said police did not want the statistics of flood fatalities to increase following stubborn residents who refused to move.
He said they need not worry about leaving their homes unattended because police will patrol the affected areas regularly.
"What we see now is that there are still many who are stubborn and refuse to move out until danger rears its ugly head, including the case of a one-year-old baby who fell and drowned in the house which was flooded," he said.
Mohd Yusoff said this after accompanying the Raja Perempuan of Kelantan Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid who handed out donations to victims at the temporary evacuation centre (PPS) in SK Padang Pohon Tanjung here on Tuesday (Dec 3).
Commenting further, Mohd Yusoff said so far the first wave of flooding had claimed five victims.
"What is worrying is that after this, we expect several more waves of flooding so we cannot predict how bad the situation could really become," he said.
Meanwhile, asked to comment on the condition of the roads around Tumpat, Mohd Yusoff said that so far four roads have been identified as badly damaged, namely Jalan Jubakar Pantai-Taman Seri Bayu; Jalan Sungai Tapang-Jalan Jubakar Pantai; Jalan Utama Kampung Tujuh and Jalan Kampung Baru Nelayan.
He said two houses had collapsed and badly damaged due to erosion by rapid water currents which made the area resemble a small river.
On Nov 29, the state road near Taman Sri Bayu here that connects Tumpat with Pengkalan Kubor was cut off by rising waters at about 5pm.
Earlier, Tengku Anis arrived at SK Padang Pohon Tanjung PPS and presented food baskets and cash to 63 heads of household along with 225 victims affected by the flood. - Bernama
