NUMBER OF FLOOD EVACUEES DROPS IN THREE STATES

KUALA LUMPUR, March 23  (Bernama) -- The flood situation in Johor, Sarawak and Sabah improved this evening, with the number of evacuees in relief centres dropping to 5,808 from 8,274 this morning.

In JOHOR, the number of evacuees dropped further to 4,597 as of 4 pm, down from 6,911 this morning.

State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman Tan Sri Dr. Azmi Rohani sad all 1,481 affected families were still housed in 29 relief centres across five districts.

He said Johor Bahru remained the district with the highest number of evacuees at 3,042, followed by Pontian (604), Kluang (525), Batu Pahat (336), and Kota Tinggi (90).

Nine districts in Johor were forecast to be sunny, while cloudy skies were expected in Muar this evening, he said in a statement.

In SARAWAK, the JPBN Secretariat said that the number of evacuees in six relief centres in Sibu and Kapit had dropped from 970 this morning to 907 this evening.

The number is expected to decline further as the flood situation gradually improves in both affected areas.

Flood evacuees in Sibu are sheltered at Dewan Serbaguna Selangau and Dewan Kompleks Sukan Kanowit, while those in Kapit are accommodated at Balai Raya Song, Asrama Belia Kapit, and Dewan Suarah Kapit.

Meanwhile, the number of evacuees in Sabah has dropped to 304 people from 86 families, down from 393 people from 137 families this morning.

The state JPBN secretariat said that only two relief centres in Beaufort remained operational, while the centres in Keningau and Sipitang had been closed.

-- BERNAMA