Wednesday, October 22, 2008

THURSDAY-23 OCTOBER 2008- WEATHERMAN FORECASTS FLASH FLOODS, MUDSLIDES IN SABAH



Weatherman forecasts flash floods, mudslides in Sabah



KUALA LUMPUR:



Moderate and occasional heavy rain is expected in the Kudat, West Coast and interior divisions of Sabah, Federal Territory of Labuan and eastern Sarawak from Wednesday night to Friday, according to the Meteorological Department. It said in a statement yesterday that the condition may, cause flash floods and mudslides in low—lying areas, mountain slopes and river banks. The weatherman also forecast thunderstorms and heavy rain with strong winds in Segamat, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Muar, Johor Baharu and Pontian in Johor until midnight yesterday. Meanwhile, the flood situation in Kedah and Perak is getting worse with more people being evacuated to flood relief centres in both the States. Continuous rain has caused more areas in both states to be flooded. In Kedah, six districts are affected by the floods and four districts in Perak. Only Bandar Baharu in Kedah recorded a drop in the number of flood evacuees when 21 of them were allowed to return home. In KEDAH, 1,708 people are still at 19 flood relief centres in Kota Star, Kubang Pasu, Padang Terap, Pendang, Bandar Baharu and Kulim districts. Kedah Social Welfare Director Zulkifli Ramli said the evacuees, from 412 families, comprised 896 people in Alor Star, followed by Kubang Pasu (630), Padang Terap (118), Bandar Baharu (21), Kulini (23) and Pendang (11). In PERAK, 662 people are staying at nine relief centres set up in four districts in the State — Bukit Merah, Teluk Intan, Bidor and Sitiawan. A spokesman at the Perak Fire and Rescue Department operations room said most of the evacuees were from Bukit Merah, totalling 481 people, followed by Teluk Intan (122), Sitiawan (56) and Bidor (3). The flood affected areas in Bukit Merah are Kampung Ayer Hitam 2, Kampung Ayer Hltam 3, Batu 37 and Batu 38, Pant Abu Hasan, Kampung Parit Abu Hasan Ban, Kampung Pant Lebai Kadir, Kampung Batu 40, Kampung Alor Setangguk and Kampung Padang Lalang. In Teluk Intan, the affected areas are Mukim Sungai Manik, Mukim Labu Kubung and Mukim Changkat Jong, while in Sitiawan, the evacuees are from Kampung Tersusun Batu Tujuh, Lekir and in Bidor, it is Kampung Jalan Sungkai. In PENANG, several low-lying areas in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) showed signs of flooding following heavy rain overnight. The areas affected were Kampung Kota Aur, Bumbung Lirna and Rantau Panjang but evacuations have yet to be made as the situation was still under control. SPU District Officer Mokhtar Mohd Jait told Bernama the authorities had been placed on full alert to face any eventuality. Checks by Bernama found residents in the areas shifting their valuable items so that they would not be damaged in floods and-preparing to move to higher ground. - Bernama