The number of victims at flood relief centres in Johor has dropped to 1,236 people as at 5pm today, from 1,437 earlier in the day.

The National Security Council portal reported that the evacuees, from 312 families, were at 18 relief committees, comprising eight in Segamat, seven in Mersing and three in Batu Pahat.

It also reported that the earth road leading to the Orang Asli village of Peta in the Endau-Rompin National Park is still cut off and the settlement can be reached only by boat or by air.

In Pahang, the number of evacuees in Rompin has dropped to 625 people, from 946 this morning.

A spokesman at the Pahang police flood operations room the evacuees were accommodated at three relief centres in the district.
   
In Sabah, the 351 people, involving 101 families, from Kampung Gum-Gum in Sandakan who were evacuated since last night are still at the relief centre at the Sri Gum-Gum Hall as of 5pm today, said a spokesman at the Sandakan Municipal Council flood operations centre.

40 families stay awake all night

In Bachok, 25km east of Kota Baru in Kelantan, 40 families from six villages living along the coastal areas of the town were forced to keep awake for more than eight hours from 8pm last night due to the high-tide phenomenon, strong winds and huge waves, that resulted in their houses submerged in 0.2 to 0.4m of sea water.

Residents of Kampung Pantai Damak, Kampung Perupuk, Kampung Kubang Golok, Bachok old town near Pantai Irama, Kampung Tok Burung and Kampung Tanjung Chat
managed to save their important items as soon as sea water started surging into their houses.

"This is the second time such a phenomenon has hit our village. The first hit 63 years ago and this time it was worst than what had occurred in 1948," said Rahim Ghazali, 46, a villager from Kampung Kubang Golok.

In Dungun, Terengganu, the high-tide phenomenon with huge waves that hit some beaches in the state was reported to be the worst ever in 50 years.

Among the districts hit by this phenomenon that is forecast to last until next month is Dungun, where part of the Teluk Lipat beach has been eroded by the huge waves.

A check showed that not only scores of Casuarina trees had fallen but part of the main road linking users to a nearby educational institution was also damaged by the waves.

The strong, five-metre high waves which hit three kilometres of the coastline damaged the road, forcing it to be closed to all vehicles to prevent any untoward incident.

A foodstall operator, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, 50, said erosion caused by the waves resulted in part of the road gradually collapsing over the past four days.

500 families evacuated in Kuching

In Kuching, Sarawak, a number of low lying areas in the state capital and in Samarahan have been badly affected by floods, forcing about 500 families to be evacuated to seven relief centres this afternoon.

According to a state Flood Operations Centre spokesman, about 1,600 people from 500 families were evacuated to three relief centres in Kuching and four relief centres in Samarahan when flood waters rose between two to three metres in their areas.

"Low lying areas in Kuching and Samarahan remained submerged in flood waters and the situation is expected to get worse tonight, due to the high tide and continuous rain," the spokesman said.

Among areas badly affected are Kampung Beradik, Kampung Sungai Tengah, Batu Kawa in Kuching; Asajaya, Sadong Jaya, Simunjan and Sebuyau in Samarahan.

The spokesman said the Malaysian Civil Defence Department, Fire and Rescue Department, police and other relevant agencies have been directed to monitor and provide assistance to badly affected areas.

- Bernama