Watch the skies, please
Rainfall warning issued as storm shows no signs of easing
Ominous grey skies are commanding attention for two different reasons – storms over Malaysia and volcanic ash over Bali, Indonesia. At one point, the Malaysian Meteorological Department even issued a red alert for parts of Kelantan and Terengganu. The weather alert level has gone down a notch to orange but continuous heavy rain still threatens the east coast – and now, northern parts of the peninsula as well. Meanwhile in Bali, more than a thousand Malaysians stranded by the eruption of Mount Agung are waiting for a chance to come home.
JAYA: With floods worsening in the east coast, continuous rain now threatens the northern peninsular states as well.
The rains, brought about by the north-east monsoon which started on Nov 13, became so heavy that the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) issued a red alert on Tuesday for parts of Kelantan and Terengganu.
The department has since lowered it to orange for Perlis, Kedah (Langkawi, Kubang Pasu, Kota Setar, Pokok Sena, Padang Terap, Sik and Baling), Perak (Hulu Perak), Kelantan (Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Bachok, Tanah Merah, Machang, Pasir Putih, Jeli and Kuala Krai) and Terengganu (Besut and Setiu).
A yellow alert means heavy rain is expected within the next one to three days and if there is continuous rain, it will not last for more than six hours and the rainfall will be less than 60mm.
An orange alert indicates continuous heavy rain for more than six hours and rainfall of at least 60mm.
A red alert signifies continuous heavy rain exceeding 240mm a day.
In Kelantan, the number of flood evacuees went up from nearly 7,000 at 8am yesterday to more than 8,000 five hours later.
Neighbouring Terengganu was also badly hit with more than 2,000 displaced persons seeking shelter.
According to the MetMalaysia website, there are four seasons in Malaysia – the south-west monsoon (May to September), north-east monsoon (November to March) and the inter-monsoon periods.
Separately, Tenaga Nasional Berhad said its emergency response team was ready to work round the clock to help out in flood-hit areas.
The power company said in a statement that the team would work to restore supply cuts caused by the floods as soon as it was safe to do so.
It said operations rooms in affected states would be activated to monitor the situation and channel the latest information on supply cuts.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB), meanwhile, said its Pasir Mas Revenue Service Centre in Kelantan was temporarily closed.
The centre would resume operations only after the floods receded, the IRB said in a statement.
In the Klang Valley, heavy rains from the inter-monsoon season, which ended early this month, had led to near-capacity water levels in the area’s dams.
The Sungai Selangor, Klang Gates, Langat and Semenyih dams recorded water levels of 100%, according to the Selangor Water Management Authority website.