Over 36,000 evacuated as floods worsen

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KUALA LUMPUR: More than 36,000 people had been driven to relief centres by this evening as the floods in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan worsened, forcing the closure of roads, schools and government offices.

ROAD CUT OFF: The main road from Alor Setar to Kepala Batas was cut off following serious flooding in Kedah. — Bernama photo

Kedah is the worst hit of the three states, where the floods forced the evacuation of 25,088 people as at 5pm and washed out the plans of several Hindu families to celebrate Deepavali on Friday.

Up to 11,411 people had moved out of their homes in Perlis and 475 in Kelantan.

In Kedah, the 25,088 evacuees are from four districts, namely Kubang Pasu (15,613), Padang Terap (3,105), Kota Setar (5,331) and Pokok Sena (1,039).

A spokesman of the National Security Council operations room said the evacuees were taking shelter at 94 relief centres in the four districts, 45 of them in Kubang Pasu, 35 in Padang Terap, nine in Kota Setar and five in Pokok Sena.

He also said that 803 evacuees in Padang Terap were allowed to return to their homes at about 1pm.

Among the flood-hit villages and towns in Kubang Pasu are Kampung Changkat Setoi, Kampung Paya Lantau, Kampung Malau, Changlun, Jitra and Kodiang.

The level of the Sungai Bata there this evening was 9.58 metres, above the danger level of 9.14 metres.

A check by Bernama in the Kota Setar district revealed that the floodwaters there had risen to 0.7 metres in most places.

The rain had stopped, but the water was flowing in from the Padang Terap district.

The road link between Jitra and capital Alor Setar has been cut off after several roads were flooded up to one metre in stretches, making them impassable to light vehicles.

The two main roads — Alor Setar-Hutan Kampung and Alor Setar-Kepala Batas —have been flooded, along with several village roads which usually serve as alternative routes.

The national news agency also  reported  that the daily activities of the people have been crippled and several camps had been erected here and there as temporary shelter for the flood evacuees.

Most retail shops run out of groceries and canned food such as salted fish, sardine, eggs and rice. — Bernama