Kelantan flood subsiding, but still above danger level

A man seen in front of a shophouse while two others look on from the second floor in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Despite decreasing water levels, a few areas around town were still flooded. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, December 28, 2014.

The flood in Kelantan is slowly subsiding, although waters remain largely above danger levels as of this evening, say official statistics from the National Security Council’s disaster portal.

It was reported that as of 6pm, water levels of the Kelantan river in Kuala Krai, Kusial and Jeti Kastam were ebbing away. But, the Golok river in Rantau Panjang and Kuala Jambu showed no change.

All remain above the danger level.

The death toll has also risen to ten: five in Kelantan, three in Pahang, and two in Terengganu.

National news agency Bernama reported that the situation in Kelatan is still critical, with 124,996 people displaced and taking shelter at the 306 relief centres, compared with the 111,376 people reported this afternoon.

State capital Kota Baru has the most number of evacuees with 42,469 people, followed by Pasir Mas (23,568), Kuala Krai (23,169), Tumpat (21,396), Gua Musang (7,529), Tanah Merah (3,546), Machang (3,097) and Pasir Puteh (192).

Several locals in Kota Baru were seen taking advantage of the receding flood to visit and clean their affected shops or homes.

But, a brief, heavy downpour in the evening forced many to return to their shelters.

Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip, a senior meteorological officer with the National Weather Centre of the Malaysian Meteorological Department, told The Malaysian Insider that more rainfall was expected to hit Malaysia’s east coast in the next three days.

“Strong winds coming from the Western Pacific and Mainland China, combined with the South China Sea, means more winds coming to Malaysia and the east coast will be hit.

“It will help to develop very dense rain clouds and result in two or three days of continuous rain that will occasionally be heavy,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

He said that while they were unable to predict the weather beyond the next four days, Kelantan will soon see a decrease in rainfall as it was late December and the clouds were expected to move to Johor.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak toured some of the worst-hit areas this weekend, following his return from a vacation in Hawaii on Friday.

Najib was criticised for his absence during the calamity, after being photographed playing golf with US president Barack Obama.

Northeastern Malaysia and southern Thailand are regularly hit by flooding during the annual northeast monsoon but this year the rain has been particularly heavy.

Putrajaya said rain in Kelantan and southern Thailand would last for at least another week.

Reuters reported an official in the southern Thai border town of Sungai Kolok as saying it would take up to two days for water levels to drop and for the border to be reopened.

- TMI