KUANTAN: Rescue teams took about three hours to evacuate more than 200 flood victims sheltering at the Seri Damai community hall temporary relief centre here to Sekolah Kebangsaan Jaya Gading on Tuesday night (Dec 16).
Kuantan Civil Defence Force officer Major (PA) Zahidi Zainudin said the evacuation was carried out after the original relief centre was deemed at risk of flooding and as the number of evacuees continued to rise.
"The operation began at about 10 pm and was completed at 1 am, with victims transported using trucks," he said when contacted on Wednesday (Dec 17).
He added that the operation, conducted amid continuous rain, involved Civil Defence Force personnel as well as the Fire and Rescue Department and the police.
Meanwhile, the State Disaster Management Committee secretariat said Jalan Pekan-Kuantan near Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah was closed to all vehicles at 7am on Wednesday.
According to the Social Welfare Department's Infobencana application, the number of flood victims in Pahang rose to 2,206 from 695 families housed at 22 relief centres in Kuantan, Maran and Rompin as of 9.30am, compared with 2,077 victims from 648 families at 18 relief centres at 8.30am on Wednesday. – Bernama
