The Kuala Selangor flood situation worsened on Wednesday (Nov 11), with the number of evacuees rising past 1,000, while residents of Kampung Melayu Subang in the Petaling district were hit by floodwater for the fourth time this month.
As of 4pm, 1,032 people from 289 families were at five temporary relief centres in the Kuala Selangor district, up from 945 people from 265 families in the morning, according to the Social Welfare Department’s InfoBencana portal.
SK Dato’ Maharaja Lela housed the most evacuees with 416 people, followed by Sekolah Rendah Agama Bukit Kuching with 287, SK Parit Mahang with 238, Sekolah Agama Batu 8 Ijok with 77 and SK Jaya Setia with 12.
The figure has risen sharply since Monday afternoon (Nov 9), when 583 evacuees were at four relief centres in the district.
In neighbouring Perak, the situation improved. Evacuees in the Hilir Perak district fell to 330 people from 94 families, from 380 people from 108 families in the morning, according to the state disaster management committee secretariat. They were housed at two halls in Teluk Intan and Langkap. MetMalaysia forecast rain and thunderstorms in all districts in Perak on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
In Kampung Melayu Subang, the meteorological department issued a thunderstorm warning at 6am for parts of Selangor, including Petaling. Three hours later, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage recorded a water level of 18.11m, above the danger threshold of 17.4m, before it eased to 16.92m by 10.45am, just above the 16.9m warning level.
Residents shared videos on social media showing homes inundated with knee-deep water and flooded roads, with some saying it was the fourth flood in two weeks. One parent who posted a video of drivers trying to get through a flooded road after the school run said she was worried about students sitting for their SPM examination.
Kampung Melayu Subang was the worst-hit area when flash floods struck parts of the Klang Valley on Nov 2, when water levels exceeded the danger mark by 1.37m and an estimated 92 homes were inundated. Bigger pumps were later installed in the village to help drain floodwater.
The floods come as the northeast monsoon brings heavy rain to many parts of the country. On Monday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced an extra RM2,500 for flood-hit households in Selangor.
Update: As of 1.31am on Thursday (Nov 12), Social Welfare Department figures showed 1,180 evacuees from 330 families in seven relief centres in Kuala Selangor, up from 1,032 in five centres at 4pm on Wednesday, while Hilir Perak’s count fell to 304 in two centres.