99 evacuated as floods strike two Perlis villages

KANGAR: Floods caused by heavy rain over the past two days struck two villages here late last night, and so far 99 people have been evacuated, according to the Perlis Civil Defence Force.
Its director, Lt Col Ishak Mohd Radzi, said people were still being evacuated to the relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bintong as some villagers of Kampung Tebing Tinggi and Kampung Wang Besar had been reluctant to move out of their homes last night.
Sixty houses in the villages were affected by the floods, he told reporters during a tour of the affected areas today.
Ishak said the Civil Defence Force was taking measures to speed up the flow of water out of the affected areas.
"In some places, the floodwaters have risen up to a metre. The Muda Agriculture Development Authority in Region 1, Kangar, is helping to draw away the floodwaters with a pump," he said.
Ishak said he expected the floodwaters to recede by late this evening should there be no more rain.
However, Perlis Meteorological Services Department director Muhammad Khalil Ab Aziz said thunderstorms were expected this evening.
"The heavy rain may last for about two hours, after which light rain is expected to fall throughout the night to tomorrow," he added. — Bernama