KEMAMAN FLOOD VICTIMS ADVISED NOT TO RETURN HOME DESPITE IMPROVING WEATHER

CHUKAI, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Flood victims in the Kemaman district have been advised to not return to their homes, despite the favourable weather conditions and receding floodwaters by midday today.

Kemaman district officer Fadli Yusof Zakaria reminded those who had already returned to remain vigilant and to follow the authorities' instructions from time to time.

"We cannot predict the exact timing of any further floods. If possible, we want to avoid relocating flood victims to temporary relief centres (PPS) at night, as this will also ease the work of the rescue teams.

"According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), heavy rain is expected to continue until Nov 23 or Nov 26. We are also concerned about the current high tide phenomenon. We fear further flooding and possible re-location," he said when met at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Teluk Kalong PPS today.

According to a check by Bernama at the PPS, no victims were present at midday, and it was understood that they had returned to clean their houses, taking advantage of the relatively good weather.

The PPS was opened yesterday afternoon to accommodate the overflow of flood victims from the Darul Iman Training Centre (DITC) PPS, where a total of 2,066 victims from 505 families were housed until midnight last night. Most of the victims were from the Teluk Kalong Affordable Housing (RMM) area.

Kemaman was the first and worst-hit district in the first wave of floods caused by the Northeast Monsoon this year in Terengganu and as of 2 pm today, accounted for 2,620 victims of the total 2,831 victims across five affected districts.

-- BERNAMA