KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Sarawak and Pahang have totally recovered from floods this evening, while the situation in Sabah continues to improve with a drop in flood evacuees at relief centres.
In Sarawak, the last relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanah Puteh in Serian district was closed at 2 pm today.
The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee said in its latest report that all 309 evacuees were the last group in the relief centre to return home.
In Pahang, the last relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Temai in Pekan district was closed at 3 pm after all 47 evacuees from 24 families were allowed to return home.
After 18 days of flooding, Pahang has finally recovered fully.
Continuous heavy rains caused landslides to occur at KM63 and KM73 Jalan Kuantan-Segamat in Pekan on Jan 1, closing off the route connecting the east coast with the south for four days.
The floods in Pahang this year affected the highest number of people this year, a record 27,294 on Jan 8, with almost 300 relief centres opened in all districts except for Cameron Highlands.
The floods this year claimed seven lives, some due to drowning and electrocution.
In Sabah, the number of evacuees dropped to 642 people from 195 families compared to 791 people from 227 families this morning.
The Sabah Civil Defence Force today announced the closure of three relief centres, Dewan Serbaguna Likas and Masjid Jamek in Kota Kinabalu and Dewan Binsulung Paitan.
“Civil Defence Force personnel are still monitoring flood hotspots in the area with the Armed Forces,” the statement read.
Evacuees are still seeking shelter at relief centres in five districts, including Beaufort, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Papar and Tenom. — Bernama