Some 40 villages inundated by water after Lemal-Lanchang bund burst

 

Flood victims wade through the floodwaters to reach the SK Kedai Tanjung relief centre in Pasir Mas. - BERNAMA PIC

PASIR MAS: The burst Lemal-Lanchang bund yesterday has resulted in nearly 40 villages were inundated by waters.

Kelantan Drainage and Irrigation director Kamal Mustapha said the affected villages include Kampung Siram, Kampung Jejawi and Kampung Tok Sangkut.

He said these villages were inundated by between 0.2m and 0.8m of waters.

"The incident has forced Lanchang river to flow down from Rantau Panjang to Tumpat.

"Along the way, it passed several villages bordering Rantau Panjang and Tumpat which include Kampung Siram and Kampung Tok Sangkut.

"This has also resulted in flood in Rantau Panjang areas to slightly improve," he told reporters when met before giving a briefing on the flood situation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at SMK Tengku Panglima Raja relief centre here today.

Kamal said the department expects the excess water from the Lanchang river to continue flowing to downstream areas for several days.

About 20m stretch of the bund has burst as the Lanchang river was unable to contain the excess rain water.

The Lemal-Lanchang bund was part of the Sungai Golok Flood Mitigation project Phase 1 which aimed at reducing the flood-related problem faced by victims particularly in Rantau Panjang. - NST