BANDAR BAHARU: A drop in the level of a swollen Kerian River, which marks the natural border between Kedah and Perak, has enabled 96 people from flood-hit Kampung Banggul Rashid in southern Kedah to return to their homes yesterday.However, 50 people were moved to nearby higher ground from Kampung Ladang Selama which was flooded up to depth of between 0.8 and 1.2 metres. Nearby Kampung Seribu Relung Terap Dalam was also flooded.
On the Perak side of the river, the number of evacuees remained at 359 as at 5pm yesterday, with the villagers coming from Kampung Alor Setangguk (168 people), Batu 37/38 Jalan Keretapi (48), Kampung Parit Haji Abu Hasan Ban (46), Kampung Parit Abu Hasan (31), Batu 40 Bukit Merah (44), Kampung Tebuk Pancur (eight), Kampung Parit Ayer Hitam (eight), Parit Mat Keling (four) and Kampung Perlis (two).
Bandar Baharu police chief DSP Helmi Aris said the 96 evacuees from Kampung Banggul Rashid were transported to their homes at 2pm.
Kulim/Bandar Baharu parliamentary constituency coordinator Datuk Abdul Aziz Skeikh Fadzir visited several flood-hit areas, including Kampung Terap Batu 11, Sungai Tengas and several villages in the Serdang and Selama mukims.
He also handed over foodstuff, including almost 100 bags of rice, to the villagers whose homes were affected by the floods but did not evacuate and cash to the old and ailing.
In Perak, Kerian police chief Supt Mat Fauzi Nayan said the flood evacuees were from Kampung Alor Setangguk (168 people), Batu 37/38 Jalan Keretapi (48), Kampung Parit Haji Abu Hasan Ban (46), Kampung Parit Abu Hasan (31), Batu 40 Bukit Merah (44), Kampung Tebuk Pancur (eight), Kampung Parit Ayer Hitam (eight), Parit Mat Keling (four) and Kampung Perlis (two).
He said the evacuees were being accommodated at Sekolah Kebangsaan Alor Pongsu, Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Merah and community halls in Alor Pongsu, Batu 38 Parit Abu Hasan and Batu 40 Bukit Merah.
The villages were flooded to a depth of between 0.5 metre and one metre after water was released from the Bukit Merah Dam following heavy rain over the past four days, he said.
Mat Fauzi said stretches of the Alor Pongsu-Selama Road at Km13 and Km17 and the Bukit Merah Road at Km64 remained closed to light vehicles due to the floods. — Bernama