N East Monsoon Takes A Toll On Kelantan

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Northeast Monsoon which has unleashed floods that affected several parts of the country is worsening in Kelantan, while the situation in Terengganu showed improvement with a slight drop in the number of flood evacuees.
According to the Social Welfare Department's Info Bencana portal, 25,392 people from 7,839 families were sheltering at 147 temporary flood relief centres in six states up to 4pm yesterday.
Kelantan had the most evacuees, with 17,919 people from 5,744 families sheltering at 63 centres. It was followed by Terengganu, with 7,113 people from 1,994 families at 74 centres.
In Sabah, 173 people from 47 families were housed at three centres. In Johor, 103 evacuees from 30 families were relocated to three centres.
The Dewan Dato Hormat Kampung Seri Cheeding temporary flood evacuation centre in Kuala Langat, Selangor, was opened on Sunday and was still sheltering a family of four yesterday.
Concerned by the worsening flood situation in Kelantan, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he will make time in his schedule to visit the state and get an update on the situation on the ground today.
In a Facebook post following his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Phuket yesterday, Anwar said: "We discussed the flood situation. InshaAllah, I will go to Kelantan tomorrow (today) to assess the increasingly worrying situation.
"May Allah lift this disaster soon."
It is learnt that Anwar and several ministers will arrive in Kota Baru about noon today. They will visit flood-hit areas in Pasir Mas.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, is expected to attend a briefing on the Sungai Golok Integrated River Basin Development Project, which has been criticised by state leaders for causing stagnant water that compounded the flood situation in Kelantan.
It was reported that the project's embankment in Kampung Lanchang collapsed due to strong currents on Tuesday.
Kelantan Drainage and Irrigation Department acting director Marinamarican Abdullah said the collapsed embankment was 20m wide and about 10m high, but the water level of Sungai Golok reached 11.03m on Tuesday.
"Strong currents caused the collapse of the embankment near Kampung Lanchang.
"Our officers have not been able to reach the site due to the strong currents."
On Tuesday, Sungai Golok's water level hit 11.03m, the highest in nine years. The last record was 10.84m about 10 years ago.
Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud had said the state government hoped the federal government would accelerate a study on modifying the spillway structure of the embankment to address the stagnant floodwater issue.
He said this would prevent floods in the state, particularly in Rantau Panjang, from worsening.
He said the flood situation in Kelantan was worse than in 2014, attributing the change to the stagnant water issue.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Deputy Energy Transition and Public Utilities Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir could not be reached for comments.
Nassuruddin was not spared by the floods as his house in Kampung Meranti was inundated.
"I hope all flood victims and residents will remain vigilant and stay updated to avoid any untoward incidents.
"Keep an eye on children and family members. I pray for everything to be eased," he said in
a Facebook post.
Additional reporting by Adib Povera, Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah and Nor Fazlina Abdul Rahim
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd


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https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/12/994811/n-east-monsoon-takes-toll-kelantan

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