KOTA BARU, Dec 31 ― A total of 501 people from 120 families were evacuated up to this afternoon in two districts in Kelantan due to floods caused by heavy rain overnight.

Kelantan Civil Defence Force director Zainuddin Husin said 83 of the families were evacuated in the Jeli district and 37 in Kuala Krai.

"In Jeli, 15 families (comprising 58 people) were moved to the relief centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Balah, 53 families (208 people) to the Jeli Kesedar Hall and 15 families (50 people) to Sekolah Kebangsaan Jeli 1.

"In Kuala Krai, 25 families (125 people) were moved to Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Bedal, eight families (40 people) to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Keroh and four families (20 people) to the Kampung Bedal Youth Hall,” he said when contacted.  

Zainuddin said he expected the number of evacuees to rise as rain continued to fall.

The evacuation began at 8am when floodwaters began to rise up to about one metre in the low-lying villages.

The major roads in the affected areas remain passable to all vehicles. ― Bernama