KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — The number of flood victims on the East Coast of the Peninsula saw a sharp decline, with about 5,000 evacuees still at temporary relief centres as of 5pm, compared to over 9,000 this morning.

In Terengganu, 4,139 people from 991 families remained at relief centres, down from 7,780 people (1,822 families) reported at 8am.

The state’s Disaster Management Committee Secretariat chief Lt Col (PA) Che Adam A. Rahman said the sunny weather throughout the day had allowed flood victims to return home in stages.

He said currently only two districts remained affected, namely Kemaman and Dungun, with 27 relief centres still in operation, housing a total of 4,139 victims.

According to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage via its portal, two rivers in the state still recorded water-levels above the danger zone as of 4pm, namely Sungai Kemaman in Kampung Paman, Kemaman (5.2m), and Sungai Dungun at the Jerangau Bridge, Dungun (12.79m).

In Kelantan, the number of flood victims decreased slightly to 1,156 people, compared to 1,382 reported in the morning.

According to the Social Welfare Department’s (SWD) "Info Bencana” application, Pasir Mas remained as the area with the highest number of evacuees, namely 1,010 people from 377 families housed in 12 relief centres.

Two relief centres remain open in Tanah Merah (79 victims) and one in Kuala Krai (67 victims).

According to the Info Banjir portal, only Sungai Golok in Rantau Panjang remains above the danger level. — Bernama