The flood situation in the east coast, especially Kelantan, is getting worse with more people being evacuated to relief centres since early this morning compared to yesterday.

A spokesperson of the State Flood Operations Centre in Kota Darulnaim said as of 6 am today, a total of 3,019 victims had been evacuated throughout the state compared with 2,327 victims last night.

The evacuees comprised 1,488 victims from the Pasir Mas district, Kuala Krai (812), Tanah Merah (401), Jeli (247), Pasir Puteh (36) and Machang (35), he told Bernama today.

NONE The spokesperson said the victims had to be evacuated as the water levels at most of the flood assessment centres in the state had risen and were above the danger level and had overflowed the river banks.

As at 9am, the water level at Tangga Krai rose to 26.91 metres, 1.91 metres above the danger level (25 metres).

The water level in Kampung Jenob Sungai Golok was 23.63 metres, 0.13 metres above the danger level (23.50 metres) while in Rantau Panjang the level was 10.44 metres, 1.44 metres above the danger level (9 metres).

Among the major roads that were closed were the Kota Baharu - Pantai Cahaya Bulan Road at KM4 Kampung Tikat; Pohon Tanjong-Rantau Panjang Road (Jalan Lama) at Km11 Kampung Siram; Jalan Rantau Panjang - Panglima Bayu at Km8.8 Kampung Kajang as the water levels along these stretches were more than one meter.

However, no fatality had been reported so far.

No untoward incident reported

In KUANTAN, the number of flood victims evacuated was 33 when floods hit two settlements here, namely Kampung Darat Sungai Ular and Kampung Chendor Tengah.

A spokesperson of the Pahang Police Contingent Headquarters Operations Room said 24 people from Kampung Darat Sungai Ular were being placed at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Cherating relief centre while nine people from Kampung Chendor Tengah were being placed at the community hall in the village.

"The evacuation only involved the Kuantan district while no road closures were reported in the other districts so far," he told Bernama .

The rise in the number of evacuees began at about 6.30pm yesterday. There were no injuries or fatality reported, he added.

NONE In KUALA TERENGGANU, the second wave of floods is getting worse with more people being evacuated and as 9am today, the number of evacuees was 9,062 people, from 5,641 people yesterday.

The evacuees are in the districts of Hulu Terengganu (1,737 people), Besut (1,094), Setiu (1,189), Dungun (2,029), Marang (1,376) and Kemaman (1,637).

A Terengganu National Security Council spokesperson said a total of 120 flood relief centres had been opened in the state so far.

The floods have also affected several roads, like Jalan Sungai Tong-Kuala Berang, which has been closed to all vehicles as it is under 0.6 metres to 1.2 metres of water this morning, while Jalan Kuala Terengganu-Bukit Besi, near Kampung Durian Kasim, is closed on one lane due to a landslide.

Several other roads are also affected and have been either closed to all traffic or opened to only light vehicles. Five of the roads are in Hulu Terengganu, Marang (six), Setiu (four), Dungun (two) and five each in Besut and Kemaman.

So far, there had been no report of an untoward incident due to the floods.

Storm warning

NONE Meanwhile, the meteorological department has warned that heavy rains and strong wind with a speed of 70 km/h or 35 knots are expected to occur until the second day of Aidiladha, Saturday, in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor.

Principal assistant director-of the Weather Forecast Centre of the Meteorological Department, Amirzudi Hashim, said the weather, termed as tropical storm, would result in choppy sea with waves reaching as high as 3.5 metres.

"As a result, the water level at the beaches will also rise by 0.5 metre compared with the normal zero level," he said.

Storms and lightning are also expected to continue until this afternoon in the waters off Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and the West Coast of Sabah.

This may result in strong winds of up to 40 km/h and waves of up to 2.5 metres high which would be dangerous for small boats.

- Bernama