KUANTAN – A total of 65 people from two districts in Pahang have been evacuated to two relief centres following floods caused by continuous heavy rain since yesterday.
According to the Welfare Department’s Info Bencana portal, as of 9.30am today, there were 44 people from 13 families seeking shelter at Balai Raya Jara in Maran, while 21 victims from six families were housed at Balai Raya Bukit Lepas in Rompin.
It said three rivers in the state, namely Sg Lepar, Sg Lipis and Sg Lembing, have exceeded the alert and danger levels.
The Malaysian Highway Authority, in a tweet, reported a river overflow at Km198 (east- and west-bound) of the East Coast Highway near Gambang and Sri Jaya.
State Works, Transport and Health Committee chairman Datuk Seri Norolazali Sulaiman confirmed this to Bernama, and said the stretch was closed at 8.40am today.
Anih Bhd, the concessionaire of the East Coast Expressway Phase 1, in a statement advised travellers who wish to return to Kuala Lumpur from the east coast to postpone their journey, as the 1km stretch is under 2m of floodwaters.
Earlier, the Meteorological Department issued a bad weather warning for several areas in Pahang’s Pekan and Rompin districts.
It said Raub, Bentong, Temerloh, Maran, Kuantan and Bera are expected to experience similar weather until tomorrow. – Bernama, January 3, 2021
