SEREMBAN: Linggi town which was badly hit by floods five decades ago is seriously inundated again this time, making it look like a small island following continuous heavy rain since yesterday evening.

Several vehicles were seen submerged in the flood waters and some residents stranded while firemen were using boats to evacuate people from the affected areas.

The state assemblyman for Linggi, Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohd Redza described the flood in Linggi town this time as the worst since 1971 with many areas inundated by flood waters, especially the low-lying or near streams.

"It's really bad this time, with the flood waters reaching up to the neck in some areas. Last year, flooding occurred four times and twice this year but it's the worst this time as the residents could not leave or enter their areas," he said, here, today.

Worried about the situation, Abdul Rahman said the state government should act fast to avoid floods from occurring in the district in future as it adversely affected the people.

Port Dickson district police chief, Supt Aidi Sham Mohamed said its members were ready to be mobilised to assist the flood victims.

Meanwhile, in Rantau, 22 houses in Kampung Siliau Hilir were inundated following continuous rain from last evening until today.

According to Kampung Siliau Baru Community Management Council (MPKK) secretary, Abdul Ghani Zainudin, 55, the floods hitting this village had not been this bad and the last time was in 1999.

Although this had been a flood-prone area, not many houses were affected, he said, adding that the villagers had been ordered to evacuate to the flood relief centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan Siliau due to concern over what could be a worsening situation.

Negeri Sembilan Civil Defence Force director, Lt Col (PA) Mohd Syukri Madnor said the number of flood victims in the state rose to 327 from 76 families, with eight PPS opened including in Port Dickson and Seremban up to 5 pm today.

-- BERNAMA