Flood turns Temerloh into island, residents anxious as food running low

TEMERLOH: Temerloh, a municipality in Pahang has turned into an ‘island’ after almost all main roads heading to the district are completely submerged under floodwaters.

Bernama check found a five-kilometre stretch of the Temerloh-Mentakab road heading to Temerloh was still inundated by waist-high stagnant floodwaters, causing access to several villages and residential estates along the road to be cut off since Tuesday.

Among the villages are Kampung Paya Kecil, Kampung Carak Paya Dalam, Kampung Temerloh Batu Satu, Taman Temerloh Jaya, and residential estates around the town.

The people had to use mostly four-wheel-drive vehicles, boats or take a ride in heavy machinery used by security personnel to move.

In the town itself, almost all business premises were closed due to the floods. As at 1 pm, 79 relief centres were opened in the district, giving shelter to over 1,000 evacuees.

Meanwhile, 150 people from 40 families in Kampung Paya Kecil were getting anxious as their food supply could only last for two more days.

Hence, the village’s development and prosperity committee chairman Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar said they really hoped that the authorities could send food supply and other essential items to them.

“Right now, our food supply could last only for another couple of days. We have to wade through floods or row a boat to get our supply from the nearest sundry shops. We do hope that some help could be sent to us,” he told Bernama when met at Bukit Kepayang As-Syakirin Mosque, where he was taking shelter with other evacuees.

-- BERNAMA