SEGAMAT, March 1 — Yong Peng firemen had to step in for their Labis colleagues to evacuate floods victims in Chaah today after Jalan Labis-Chaah, near here, was cut off by floodwaters.
Labis fire and rescue station chief Muhammad Hafifie Md Sarif said his men were supposed to evacuate the victims but could not reach the area as that stretch of road was rendered impassable to all traffic.
“The rescue mission in Chaah was reported to have gone smoothly with the help of Yong Peng fire and rescue station personnel and Chaah volunteer firefighters.
“Heavy rain has caused many areas to be inundated and the number of victims trapped by floodwaters is expected to increase. Work to evacuate flood victims is continuing and the road links to several areas have been cut off, including Kampung Tenang, Pekan Air Panas and Kampung Juaseh,” he said when met here today.
He said the Labis firemen were then deployed for rescue work in Labis.
Muhammad Hafifie said Labis town and its surrounding areas as well as several housing estates were flooded up to one metre.
“As at 4am today, we have evacuated 209 families comprising 746 people to six flood relief centres (PPS) in Labis,” he added.
As at 2pm today, 6,694 flood victims had been moved to 63 PPS in seven districts, according to the State Disaster Management Committee. — Bernama
