The number of flood victims in Malacca has declined to 512 people as of this morning from 534 people last night after 22 evacuees returned to their homes this morning.

Malacca civil defence fForce director Lt Col (PA) Effendy Ali said a total of 512 evacuees from 129 families were still being placed at nine relief centres, with seven in Melaka Tengah district and the rest in Jasin and Alor Gajah districts.

He said the number of evacuees at four relief centres with declining numbers are at SMK Munsyi Abdullah, which has 246 people from 58 families, Krubong People's Housing Project (71 people from 18 families), Sekolah Agama JAIM Tanjung Minyak (20 people from seven families) and Balai Raya Pengkalan Batu (27 people from six families).

"Two other relief centres with an increased number of evacuees are at Sekolah Kebangsaan Tehel in Jasin involving 71 people from 19 families and Balai Raya Kampung Seri Jeram, Alor Gajah (17 people from four families),” he said in a statement here today.

Effendy, who is also Melaka State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat head, said the number of evacuees remained at 20 people from four families in Paya Ikan Rural Transformation Centre , Surau Bukit Baru (13 people from two families) and Balai Raya Peringgit (27 people from 11 families).

Meanwhile, in Johor Baru, health, environment, education and information committee chairperson Ayub Rahmat said 45 people from 10 families in Tangkak were evacuated to two relief centres, as of 7pm yesterday.

He said the numbers included five victims from two families in Kampung Seri Makmor and 40 victims from eight families in Kampung Bukit Banjar.

In addition to the two villages, other flood-stricken areas in the district were Kampung Anjung Batu, Kampung Solok and Kampung Sri Jaya but no relief centre was opened (for evacuees), he said in a statement here yesterday night.

Ayub said the floods occurred after the Tangkak and Kampung Belemang rivers overflowed following heavy rain.

- Bernama