Johor Floods: Situation under control, no need to declare emergency, says Anwar
There is no need for an emergency to be declared as the flood situation has seen signs of improvement, says Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said that waters have also started receding in several areas that are affected by the floods.
"The government has decided not to announce a flood emergency as rainfall is expected to start seeing a reduction."
"Several places have also see floodwaters receding starting today."
"However, there are also some places that may have stagnant water and this may take some time. But there is no need to announce an emergency for now," he said on Sunday.
He said this at a press conference after visiting flood victims at the SJK(C) Kampung Tengah temporary relief centre in Segamat.
He said this when asked if there was a need for an emergency to be declared in Johor as the number of victims have exceeded the 40,000 mark.
Earlier, Anwar arrived at 11.20 am and spent about 20 minutes meeting the flood victims at the relief centre which houses 125 people from 32 families.
In addition to chatting with the evacuees, he also inspected the educational psychological activity room for children at the centre, run by the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
His arrival was warmly welcomed by evacuees at the centre, including the elderly and young people who were happy to meet the country’s leader.
Earlier, Anwar was given a briefing on the flood situation in the district at the 4th Royal Artillery Regiment (4 RAD), Segamat Camp.
Johor continued to record the highest number of evacuees with 44,860 followed by Pahang (2,978), Negri Sembilan (587), Melaka (493) and Selangor (71).
In Johor, the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN), in a statement, said that 13,029 families had been evacuated to 260 relief centres in ten districts.
Batu Pahat is the worst affected district with 12,250 people from 3,545 families, followed by Segamat with 13,334 people (3,897 families) and Kluang with 5,296 people (1,533 families).
In Pahang, the JPBN secretariat reported that the number of evacuees rose slightly to 2,978 from 2,860 on Saturday (March 4) night and they were housed in 23 relief centres.
Rompin continued to have the highest number of evacuees at 2,615, followed by Temerloh (305), Bera (29), and Maran (29).
In Melaka, the number of evacuees increased to 493 people from 134 families as at 8am Sunday compared to 448 people from 118 families at 8pm Saturday.
The JPBN secretariat, in a statement, said all of them were housed in five relief centres, namely four in Jasin and one in Alor Gajah.
In Selangor, the number of evacuees rose to 71 people from 17 families as of Sunday morning compared to 58 people from 14 families on Saturday.
According to the Selangor Civil Defence Force (APM), the victims were placed in two relief centres.
In Negri Sembilan, state Civil Defence Force (APM) director Lt Col (PA) Mohd Nazri Mes Kam said the number of evacuees continued to drop, with 587 people from 148 families remaining in four relief centres in Tampin as of 8am Sunday.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) when issuing the warning at 10.35am on Sunday, said that continuous rain is also expected to hit Betong, Sarikei, Sibu and Mukah in Sarawak, also until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in Pahang, similar weather conditions are expected to hit Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin and in Johor involving Kluang, Mersing and Kota Tinggi.
The Star
Asia News Network
