Nearly 23,000 people evacuated in Terengganu and Kelantan

The flood situation in the east coast states of Terengganu and Kelantan continued to worsen, with close to 23,000 people having been evacuated to relief centres as at noon today.

Floods caused by heavy rain overnight also struck 10 villages in northern Sabah as 135 people from 27 families were moved to safety in Kampung Rukom Ulu near Pitas.

A total of 12,910 residents from 3,550 families were affected by flooding in Terengganu, with 139 relief centres currently in operation.

In Kelantan, the floods affected 10,041 people from 3,334 families, with 74 relief centres having been opened.

Terengganu and Kelantan had 10,734 and 8,640 flood victims, respectively, this morning.

The worsening floods forced the closure of 63 schools in Terengganu today, a move that affected 16,938 students and 1,949 teachers.

The original intention was to close 24 schools but heavy rain overnight flooded or cut off access to 39 other schools, said Terengganu Education director Shafruddin Ali Hussin.

The Kelantan State Education Department yesterday said that the closure of 48 schools in the state today would affect 15,084 students.

People had to resort to various means to get to work, a case in point being some 50 staff of Hulu Terengganu Hospital who braved the floods to come to work in backhoes.

Meanwhile, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad has cancelled its shuttle train service beeween Kuala Krai and Tumpat until further notice due to rising floodwaters.

The shuttle service will only be available between Kuala Lipis and Dabong, KTMB said in a statement today.

KTMB had suspended its inter-city train service between Kuala Lipis and Tumpat due to landslides at nine locations between the Kuala Krai and Bukit Abu stations.

"The East Coast inter-city train service remains suspended. All train services between Dabong and Kuala Krai are suspended until further notice. Work is going on to repair the tracks," the statement said.

It also said that as for the Ekspres Timuran No. 26 (JB Sentral-Tumpat) service, trains were only available from the JB Sentral station to the Gua Musang station.

Passengers would be ferried in buses from the Gua Musang station to Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas, Wakaf Bharu and Tumpat, it said.

Passengers bound for Dabong would be able to use the local trains, it added.

As for the Ekspres Timuran No. 27 (Tumpat-JB Sentral) service, passengers would board buses at the Tumpat, Wakaf Baru, Pasir Mas, Tanah Merah and Kuala Krai stations to Gua Musang and continue their journey by train from the Gua Musang station to the JB Sentral station, it said.

KTMB said it expected the trains to be delayed by more than two hours and that passengers could obtain a refund for their tickets or change the date of the journey.

KTMB apologised for the inconvenience faced by passengers. More information can be obtained from KTMB at 03-22671200 or www.ktmb.com.my.

In Sabah, Sabah Civil Defence Force director Col Muliadi Al-Hamdi Ladin said the 10 flood-hit villages were Kampung Bilangau Besar, Kampung Rukom Ulu, Kampung Sinasak Batu, Kampung Sibaung, Kampung Kusilad, Kampung Pandan Mendamai, Kampung Salimpodon Darat, Kampung Pinggan-Pinggan, Kampung Indah and Kampung Dandun.

- Bernama