JOHOR BAHRU, Jan 7 — The number of flood victims in Johor surged in just over an hour to 3,322 people as of 8 pm, now housed in 45 temporary relief centres as Pontian became the latest, and sixth district, to be hit.

State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman Tan Sri Azmi Rohani said this is compared to the 1,805 victims who had been seeking shelter in 41 relief centres as of 7 pm.

Azmi, who is also Johor state secretary, said besides Pontian, the other districts affected were Kota Tinggi, Kluang, Segamat, Johor Bahru and Kulai.

"Kota Tinggi has the highest number with 1,638 evacuees 19 in relief centres, followed by Kluang with 863 people in 13 relief centres and Johor Bahru with 733 victims in 10 relief centres.

"Meanwhile, there are 20 victims in a relief centre in Segamat, 62 people in a centre in Kulai, and six people in a centre in Pontian, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Melayu Raya, Pekan Nanas, which was just opened at 7.45 p.m,” he said in a statement today.

He said several relief centres in the Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi, and Kluang districts are still updating the number of flood victims.

Meanwhile, Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Siti Rohani Nadir said continuous rain since last night caused river water levels to rise.

"So far, the work of evacuating victims is being carried out actively in the Kota Tinggi district and several places in Johor Bahru and Machap.

"The current situation is under control with the cooperation and coordination of other agencies,” she said in a separate statement.

The number of victims is expected to increase further due to the continuous rain, which has led to the water levels of major rivers in Johor such as Sungai Kahang and Sungai Johor to rise.

Meanwhile, according to the latest report issued by the National Disaster Control Centre of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the flood situation in Pahang has worsened tonight, with 525 victims from 139 families seeking shelter in 12 temporary relief centres in Rompin, Pekan and Maran.

Based on observations from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage’s telemetry station, rivers in six areas in Johor were found to be at dangerous levels with an increasing trend, namely Kampung Laut (Sungai Skudai) Dagang (Sungai Johor), Sri Jaya (Sungai Johor), Kampung Murni Jaya (Sungai Johor), Kampung Sungai Siam (Sungai Johor) and Kampung Contoh (Sungai Endau).

The same trend was observed in three areas in Pahang, namely Pekan, Rompin and Maran involving Sungai Pahang, Sungai Keratong and Sungai Rompin while two areas, Jerantut (Sungai Pahang) and Kuantan (Sungai Kuantan), are showing a decreasing trend.

In addition, Sungai Kelantan is also at a dangerous level and showing an increasing trend in two areas, namely Kota Bharu and Gua Musang. The same has been reported for Sungai Arau in Perlis and Sungai Kedah in Kota Setar, Kedah, while Sungai Batang Sadong in Serian, Sarawak, continues to show a decreasing trend.

Nadma also stated that as of today, 46 roads have been closed due to floods and damage, including Jalan Kota Tinggi-Kluang, Jalan Sepayang, Rompin in Pahang; Kuantan-Segamat Highway (Lebuhraya Tun Razak) and Jalan Ulu Tebrau-Sg Tiram in Johor. — Bernama