Kuantan: Rescue teams took about three hours to evacuate more than 200 flood victims sheltering at the Seri Damai community hall temporary relief centre here to Sekolah Kebangsaan Jaya Gading last night.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Kuantan Civil Defence Force (APM) officer Major (PA) Zahidi Zainudin stated that the evacuation was carried out after the original relief centre was deemed at risk of flooding and as the number of evacuees continued to rise. "The operation began at about 10 pm and was completed at 1 am, with victims transported using trucks," he said when contacted today.

He added that the operation, conducted amid continuous rain, involved APM personnel as well as the Fire and Rescue Department and the police. Meanwhile, the State Disaster Management Committee secretariat said Jalan Pekan-Kuantan near Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah (UnIPSAS) was closed to all vehicles at 7 am today.

According to the Social Welfare Department's Infobencana application, the number of flood victims in Pahang rose to 2,206 from 695 families housed at 22 relief centres in Kuantan, Maran, and Rompin as of 9.30 am, compared with 2,077 victims from 648 families at 18 relief centres at 8.30 am today.