Floods: Overcrowded relief centres in Temerloh in need of essential items

TEMERLOH: Several temporary flood relief centres here have become overcrowded resulting in a number of flood victims being forced to sleep in their cars or tents erected on sidewalks.

Taman Sri Semantan resident Nurul Shafiqah Shahrin, 23, said the situation was making it difficult for flood victims to get supplies of items such as food, mineral water, blankets, pillows, clothing, diapers and formula milk.

Nurul Shafiqah and three of her family members left their home on the top floor of a shophouse but were not given a place at the SK Mentakab Jaya relief centre because it was full.

“For the time being, we are staying at a friend’s home which is not flooded. There are people sleeping on the roadside. Even victims at the relief centres don’t even have enough supply,” she said when contacted by Bernama Wednesday (Dec 22).

Earlier, Nurul Shafiqah’s social media post about the situation of flood victims at Taman Sri Semantan appealing for help went viral on social media.

Taman Sri Kemuning resident M. Ramesh, 37, said he had to walk 4km, including wading in chest-deep floodwaters, to buy rice.

“The sundry shop near my house does not have rice, the main road is flooded. A friend here said rice is still available here, so we walked all the way here,” he said adding that residents in the housing area needed help after being stranded even though their homes were not flooded.

Meanwhile, a survey by Bernama in Taman Temerloh Jaya on Wednesday found that several sundry shops had run out of food stocks such as bread, flour, bread, sugar and milk while other essential items were in short supply.

Thousands of residents in the area, including Taman Temerloh Jaya Indah and Taman Temerloh Makmur, are stranded as all roads are flooded.

Meanwhile, in SHAH ALAM, clothing donations for flood victims in Taman Sri Muda, Section 25, Shah Alam, are no longer needed, says Selangor Disaster Emergency Management Operations manager Shehdi Hazrik Shamsudin.

He said, however, his team, which is an associate partner under the Social Welfare Department, (JKM), was still accepting items like dry food, mineral water, instant noodles, personal care items, disposable diapers and formula milk.

“We do not need clothes because we have a lot of them and now, it has become a dumping ground here.

“We sincerely appeal to all to stop sending used clothes and our focus now is on food aid such as biscuits, instant noodles, dried foods,” he told reporters at the aid collection centre in Taman Sri Muda Wednesday. – Bernama