Flooding in Perak and Penang worsened as more evacuees were moved into temporary relief centres across both states, NST reported.
In Perak, 407 victims from 147 families were sheltered at four relief centres in the Larut, Matang and Selama districts as of 8am. The centres were activated after floods hit Kampung Changkat Ibol, Kampung Batu 9, Trong and Matang a day earlier, according to FMT.
The State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat said the largest group, 181 victims from 57 families, is at Sekolah Kebangsaan Changkat Ibol. Another 130 victims from 57 families are at Dewan Masjid Al-Wusta Batu 8, 79 victims from 24 families are at SK Matang Gelugor, and 17 evacuees from nine families are at Dewan Perdana Trong.
Separately, 56 storm victims from 21 families remain at the SK Matang relief centre after a storm hit several villages in the area on Wednesday. The villages were Kampung Changkat Baru Matang, Kampung Teluk Kertam, Kampung Melawati and Kampung Hujung Matang.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department forecast thunderstorms across all districts in Perak in the afternoon, followed by rain in the evening.
In Penang, the number of flood victims at the SK Seri Penanti relief centre in Kubang Semang rose to 36 from 27 the night before. The evacuees come from 10 families. The centre was opened at 8.30pm after continuous heavy rain and flash floods in the area.
Temporary relief centres are opened by district disaster committees when homes are under water, cut off by road closures or judged unsafe to stay in. Evacuee figures are compiled through the night and published on the Social Welfare Department’s InfoBencana portal, which the state committees use to report their running totals.
Perak’s four centres in Larut, Matang and Selama are the second wave of displacement in the district this week. The storm on Wednesday first sent 56 people from 21 families to SK Matang, and the floods that followed pushed another 147 families out of their homes.
Across the four centres, the individual figures add up to the district total of 407 victims and 147 families. SK Matang, opened for the storm victims on Wednesday, remains a separate count from the four flood centres.
State committees have not said when the evacuees can return. Numbers at the two states’ centres are being updated as water levels change.
