IPOH: THE flood situation in Perak is not getting better as more victims are being evacuated from their homes while the state Public Works Department hastens to reopen traffic on the landslide-hit East West Highway today.
State National Security Council assistant secretary Norhafizah Zainuddin said as of 5.40pm yesterday, 1,580 flood victims from 385 families were evacuated from their homes.
She said the government had opened 28 flood evacuation centres in three districts — Hulu Perak, Kuala Kangsar and Perak Tengah.
“Kuala Kangsar has 18 relief centres opened, which is the highest. It is followed by eight centres in Lenggong and two centres in Perak Tengah,” she said.
On Tuesday, 10 centres were opened to provide shelter to 250 victims.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said this was the worst flood to hit Perak in the past 30 years.
“In Sungai Siput district alone, 899 people from 105 families had to be evacuated,” he said while visiting flood victims at SK Lasah.
Zambry dispelled rumours that the flood was caused by Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s move to release water from its dams.
“The flooding was due to the heavy downpour in Hulu Perak ,” he said.
Repair works on the Km69 stretch of Jalan Gerik-Jeli near Banjaran Titiwangsa of the East West Highway, which caved in on Tuesday began on Thursday.
State Works Department director Datuk Dr Safry Kamal Ahmad said the authorities plan to create a temporary road diversion for motorists pending the completion of remedial works on the damaged stretch.
“We are considering to either use the unaffected side of the road or create a new diversion using the land belonging to Forestry Department.
“We hope to open one lane of the highway within three days,” he said, adding that there were still soil movement detected at the site.
The highway was closed after a hole measuring 10m in depth and 50m in width was formed following a landslide.
Meanwhile, Gerik district deputy police chief Deputy Superintendent Jamalani Md Isa said no one was injured when a lorry and Proton Wira fell into the hole recently.
In Perlis, the state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) denied rumours that the state would be hit by worse floods when the Thai authorities release water from its dams. The dams are purportedly breaching dangerous levels near the Malaysia-Thai border.
Its director Abdul Najib Abdullah said the speculation was baseless as there were no major dams located near the Perlis border.
“Our border with Thailand is protected by high grounds. So it is not geographically possible for the state to be flooded by waters from southern Thai,” he said.
He also said that DID’s decision to release water from the Timah Tasoh Dam in Padang Besar was not the sole reason for the flooding of several low-lying areas nearby.
“We were releasing water in the last 22 days to maintain the water level at the dam at 29.74m,” he said.
Meanwhile, the number of flood evacuees in Perlis rose to 253 people yesterday from more than 100 people a day earlier.
The victims from 71 families are now sheltered at three relief centres in Abi and Beseri.