KUALA LUMPUR: Search-and-rescue authorities and people in low-lying areas in at least six states are bracing for the worst as rain-triggered floods continued to wreak havoc over the past 24 hours.
The floodwaters, which started rising last night in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, have rendered several roads impassable, kept people overnight in their stranded cars and thrown operations out of schedule at the country’s leading port.
Even several areas in the Klang Valley, including this federal capital, have not been spared.
The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) in the Prime Minister’s Department reported that almost 4,000 people have been moved out of their flooded homes in the six states as of 6 pm today.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department only had news the people did not want to hear. A spokesman, when contacted, warned of more heavy rain.
He also said that the heavy rain was caused by a low pressure system over the South China Sea which affected the Pahang waters and, subsequently, the six states in the peninsula.
The spokesman advised people in flood-prone areas to heed the advice of the authorities.
The floods in the Klang Valley threw operations out of schedule at the Northport, Westport and Southport terminals of Port Klang, one of the world’s busiest ports.
The Klang Port Authority, in a statement, said the floods also damaged access roads and affected operations at warehouses and the empty container depot.
Several major roads were closed, mainly to light traffic. These included all lanes at the Shah Alam Toll Plaza; the northbound stretch of the ELITE Expressway from Seafield to Shah Alam; the northbound stretch of the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) from Setia Alam to Shah Alam and from Setia Alam to Shah Alam which rendered all lanes to the Bukit Raja Toll Plaza to be closed.
Scores of people had to remain in their vehicles overnight as major roads in Setia Alam, Shah Alam, connecting to Bandar Bukit Raja, Meru and Sungai Kapar Indah were flooded.
Some people left their vehicles by the roadside this morning and waded through the floodwaters to their homes.
The website of the Social Welfare Department reported that 3,010 people had been evacuated to 40 relief centres in the districts of Sepang, Klang, Kuala Langat and Hulu Klang in Selangor.
The Department of Survey and Mapping reported that high tide up to four metres high is expected in the waters of Port Klang over two days from today, with the tide expected to reach 4.08 metres at 5.36 am and 3.9 metres at 6.08 pm tomorrow.
The InfoBanjir website reported that 16 rivers in Selangor had breached the danger level.
In Kelantan, 1,391 people have been evacuated to 23 relief centres in the districts of Kuala Krai, Gua Musang, Tanah Merah, Jeli and Pasir Mas.
In Melaka, 225 people have been moved to five relief centres in Alor Gajah.
In Terengganu, 285 people have been evacuated to three relief centres.
Information gleaned from the https://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my portal indicates that several major rivers in Pahang, Selangor, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Perak are nearing the danger level.
These include Sungai Pahang, Sungai Kuantan, Sungai Lembing and Sungai Jelai in Pahang; Sungai Langat, Sungai Semenyih, Sungai Klang and Sungai Bernam in Selangor; Sungai Kelantan and Sungai Golok in Kelantan; Sungai Linggi in Negeri Sembilan; Sungai Slim and Sungai Bidor in Perak and Sungai Melaka in Melaka. — Bernama
